Project GRASP
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7

| Date | 29 July 2002 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Eugene Podkletnov |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 148 |
| Year | 2002 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2002 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
On 29 July 2002 Jane's Defence Weekly reported, in an article by aviation editor Nick Cook, that Boeing's Phantom Works had looked at funding research into the anti-gravity claims of Russian engineer Eugene Podkletnov under a briefing titled "GRASP" — Gravity Research for Advanced Space Propulsion.[1][2]
The briefing

According to the reports, the Boeing document stated that gravity modification, if real, would transform the aerospace industry. It set out aims to explore propellantless propulsion, determine whether Podkletnov's work was valid and "examine possible uses for such a technology", including space launch, artificial gravity on spacecraft, aircraft propulsion and "fuelless" electricity generation. It reportedly noted that BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin had also contacted Podkletnov.[1][2][3]
Boeing's position
George Muellner, head of Phantom Works, told Jane's that the science appeared valid and plausible, and later confirmed at the Farnborough Air Show that the company was interested in Podkletnov's work. But Boeing told other reporters that GRASP was not the codename of a live project, describing it as a presentation in which an engineer explained Podkletnov's theory and proposed further study, and its public line was that gravity shielding remained science fiction. Reports said Boeing's approach ran into Russian technology-transfer controls and Podkletnov's reluctance to work with the military.[2][3]
Podkletnov

Podkletnov had reported in 1992 that a rotating superconducting disc reduced the weight of objects above it, but his results were never independently reproduced, and a NASA effort in the 1990s and 2000s never completed a full test. Mainstream physicists do not accept gravity shielding. GRASP is often cited by advocates of secret propulsion research as evidence that major contractors took the idea seriously.[1][4]
People and topics
- Boeing — The aerospace company whose Phantom Works looked at gravity research in 2002.
- Anti-gravity — The idea of cancelling or controlling gravity for propulsion.
- Eugene Podkletnov — Russian engineer who claimed spinning superconductors reduce gravity.
On the Timeline
- Boeing and Podkletnov (BBC report, 2002) (29 July 2002) — BBC News reports Boeing researchers are looking at a Russian scientist's antigravity work.
- Norton AFB UFO files claim (1 September 2002) — A couple tells Vallée they saw a large collection of UFO files at Norton AFB in 1985.
See every 2002 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Eugene Podkletnov — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Boeing tries to defy gravity" (Jane's Defence Weekly, Jul 2002), SpaceDaily · spacedaily.com · archived copy
- Repost of Nick Cook's Jane's article (Aug 2002), PHYS-L archive · phys-l.org · archived copy
- "Podkletnov's four gravity control experiments", AltPropulsion · altpropulsion.com · archived copy
- BBC Q&A: Boeing and anti-gravity (2002) — via UFO Scans · ufoscans.com · archived copy
- Project GRASP documents (archive) · thelivingmoon.com · archived copy
- web.archive.org · web.archive.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Skunk Works — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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