Bigelow Aerospace / BAASS
Type
Organization
Status
DefunctActive Period
1999-2020
Parent Organization
Private (Robert Bigelow)
Summary
Bigelow Aerospace was a private aerospace company founded by Robert Bigelow focused on expandable space habitat technology, but its Advanced Space Studies division (BAASS) became the primary contractor for the U.S. government's $22M AAWSAP UAP research program (2008-2012). BAASS employed physicists, intelligence veterans, and field investigators and conducted both technical report production (38 DIRDs) and field investigations including at Skinwalker Ranch. Bigelow Aerospace filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Significance
Bigelow Aerospace and its BAASS division represent the most documented intersection of private aerospace enterprise with classified U.S. government UAP programs. The $22M AAWSAP contract - secured through Senator Reid's advocacy - is the largest confirmed government UAP expenditure in the public record. BAASS's network of scientific personnel, including Hal Puthoff, Eric Davis, and others, became the foundation of the post-2017 disclosure ecosystem.
Key Personnel
Robert Bigelow
Founder and owner
Hal Puthoff
BAASS scientific research
Eric Davis
BAASS researcher; DIRD contributor
Harry Reid
Secured AAWSAP funding for BAASS through Senate appropriations
Limitations & Caveats
- !BAASS's internal research records and field investigation reports have never been independently reviewed.
- !The dual commercial/classified nature of Bigelow Aerospace makes independent assessment of its UAP work difficult.
- !Key personnel accounts of BAASS activities have not been formally corroborated under oath.