Nevada, the Battle Born state was selected as the nation’s west coast line of defense during World War II. Ever since, Nevada has hosted the Army Air Corps, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, US Army, and the Navy for the development of the nation’s most highly classified activities and achievements that played a large part in winning the Cold War and all other wars in between. The state of Nevada has been a Mecca for independent people who wanted to do new and different things. Among the state's unique accomplishments were the pioneering of space travel during which Nevada produced more astronauts than any other state. Nevada hosted the development of nuclear power for space exploration and as a deterrent to aggression by our enemies. The state's development and testing of the accouterments of space, war, and defense have contributed to our nation's successes. With the initial U-2 plane flight tests at Groom Lake, almost every flight established a new world altitude record for manned flight. The flights of the CIA's A-12 spy plane at Groom Lake set world altitude and speed records that still stand today.