MUFON–BAASS contract
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 17 October 2008 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Robert Bigelow |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 168 |
| Year | 2008 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2008 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 13 |
In 2008–2010 the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), the largest civilian UFO group in the United States, worked under contract for Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), which was itself running the Defense Intelligence Agency's secret Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. Most MUFON members did not know that the money ultimately came from the Pentagon.[1][2]
The first contract
On 20 September 2008 Robert Bigelow contacted MUFON board member John Schuessler about a contract, and the next day BAASS sent non-disclosure agreements to MUFON principals including International Director James Carrion and Robert Powell. On 17 October 2008 the two signed a first agreement, under which a MUFON team wrote twelve overview papers on technical subjects, delivered in November for about $10,000.[1]
The STAR project
A second contract was signed in February 2009 after a meeting in Las Vegas. Under it, BAASS paid MUFON $56,000 a month for read-only access to its case database, including non-public sections, and for rapid-response field investigations by paid members of MUFON's STAR teams; BAASS acquired all the "product" of the investigations, including witness transcripts and physical evidence. The STAR Impact Project began in April 2009 under STAR team manager Richard Lang. The contract stated that it was a services agreement, not a partnership.[1][3]
Secrecy
BAASS's sponsor was kept anonymous; only Schuessler, who held a BAASS security clearance, knew it was the DIA. Investigators were told the data would support "commercial technology" goals. An article in March 2009 disclosed the deal prematurely, and MUFON's public announcement that April described only a subcontract for rapid-response UFO investigation.[1][3]
End and aftermath
The arrangement ended in January–February 2010 amid disputes over money: BAASS wanted the funds spent on investigations rather than MUFON's running costs, and its accountants could not reconcile MUFON's invoices. Lang later said MUFON received only about $324,000 of a possible $672,000 for the first year. Carrion resigned after the board bypassed him in talks with BAASS, and the contract was leaked in January 2011, causing turmoil inside MUFON. The link to the Pentagon program became widely known only after 2017.[1][3][4]
People and topics
- MUFON — The largest civilian UFO organization in the United States.
- Robert Bigelow — Businessman who founded NIDS and Bigelow Aerospace and ran the AAWSAP contract.
- BAASS — The Bigelow Aerospace division that carried out the AAWSAP contract.
- Defense Intelligence Agency — The Pentagon's military intelligence agency, which ran AAWSAP.
- AAWSAP — The Defense Intelligence Agency's UAP research program of 2008–2010, carried out by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
On the Timeline
- AAWSAP begins (2008) (2 October 2008) — Bigelow tells Vallée the DIA's AAWSAP project has started but promised access hasn't arrived.
- Projected AAWSAP funding (29 October 2008) — Kit Green tells Vallée AAWSAP funding could reach $240 million.
See every 2008 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "The AAWSAP–BAASS–MUFON connection", Blue Blurry Lines (Mar 2020) · blueblurrylines.com · archived copy
- Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Janet Katherine Smith, "Battle for MUFON, part 2: the contract" (Aug 2011) · janetkatherinesmith.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Mutual UFO Network — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Glowing auras and 'black money': the Pentagon's mysterious UFO program — New York Times (2017) · nytimes.com · archived copy
- The origins of AAWSAP — Metabunk · metabunk.org · archived copy
- DIA FOIA reading room (AAWSAP technical reports) · dia.mil · archived copy
- The tale of three BAASS field investigations — UFOs Scientific Research · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Documents on the vetting of 'Skinwalkers at the Pentagon' — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: book review — Bad UFOs (Robert Sheaffer) · badufos.blogspot.com · archived copy
- AARO historical report finds no evidence of alien technology (2024) — Space.com · space.com · archived copy
- AARO Report on the Historical Record, Volume I — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- app.box.com · app.box.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Robert Bigelow — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Mutual UFO Network — 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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