Yucca Airstrip is a private-use airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located 17 miles (27 km) north of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Mercury

Mercury, Nevada

Mercury, Nevada is a town in Nye County, Nevada, United States, 5 miles north of U.S. Route 95 at a point 65 miles further northwest of Las Vegas. It is situated within the Nevada Test Site and was constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to house and service the staff of the test site. The...

, in Nye County

Nye County, Nevada

-National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The airport is located on the Nevada Test Site

Nevada Test Site

The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...

 and is owned by the United States Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

. On the sectional chart

Sectional Chart

In United States aviation, a sectional chart, often called sectional for short, is a type of aeronautical chart designed for navigation under visual flight rules.-Overview:...

 it is depicted as an unverified airstrip.

History

The airport was the staging area for SHOT BADGER, a test of the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series on April 18, 1953.

Facilities

Yucca Airstrip Airport covers an area of 41 acres (16.6 ha) and has two runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s, one located on the salt flat and a shorter, more recently constructed asphalt runway just east of the salt flat:

• Runway 01/19: 4,990 x 75 ft (1,521 x 23 m), surface: Asphalt
  Asphalt
  Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
  
  
• Runway 14/32: 9,000 x 200 ft (2,743 x 61 m), surface: Salt
  Salt
  In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...