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Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies

Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) was a Las Vegas company owned by entrepreneur Robert Bigelow that, as a contracted researcher for the Pentagon's AAWSAP program between 2008 and 2010, also investigated UAP phenomena.

Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) was a subsidiary of Bigelow Aerospace, which developed inflatable space modules. The parent company was founded by Nevada businessman Robert Bigelow, who had long been openly interested in UFOs and phenomena considered paranormal. He had earlier also funded a private research institute called the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), founded in 1995, and in 1996 he bought Skinwalker Ranch in Utah.

The Pentagon contract

BAASS is best known in connection with the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). The program was initiated by then–Nevada Senator Harry Reid at Bigelow's urging, with the support of Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye. About $22 million was set aside for it over five years. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) signed a contract with BAASS in September 2008; BAASS won the contract as the sole bidder. On the DIA side, James Lacatski was the program manager, and the deputy director of BAASS was Colm Kelleher.

BAASS researchers collected and investigated UAP sightings and phenomena considered unusual. The program also funded 38 studies (Defense Intelligence Reference Documents, DIRDs), for example on propulsion, wormholes and invisibility technologies. The DIA released a list of their titles in 2019, and several of them have since become public. BAASS's 494-page main report has not been officially released. The contract expired in December 2010.

According to his own account, Luis Elizondo later led AATIP, which is considered the program's successor. The Pentagon disputes this, and his role in BAASS's work is also unclear.

What is claimed, and the official finding

According to former participants in the program and Bigelow, BAASS collected a significant amount of sighting data. According to critics, the project was pervaded by Bigelow's personal interest in paranormal phenomena. According to the Pentagon, funding for the program ended in 2012. AARO's 2024 historical report found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology. It traces today's claims about concealed technology partly to individuals connected to the defunct AAWSAP/AATIP and to the paranormal research of a private organization. Bigelow Aerospace laid off all of its employees in 2020 and has not operated since.

Sources

  1. Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (Wikipédia)
  2. Bigelow Aerospace (Wikipédia)
  3. Timeline of Modern UFO Investigations: AAWSAP to AARO
  4. AARO’s 2024 Historical Report (Volume I) – an Objective Summary

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