Franklin Mead
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 7
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Frank Mead |
| On the Timeline | 3 events, 1972–1988 |
Franklin B. "Frank" Mead Jr. is an American aerospace engineer who worked for decades on advanced propulsion at the Air Force's rocket propulsion laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He began at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory and continued with its successor, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) propulsion directorate.[2][3] He edited the 1972 report of Project Outgrowth, a 1970 Air Force study of propulsion breakthroughs that might come over the following 40 years, including "unknown sciences" such as psychokinesis.[2] He later did laser-propulsion research. His AFRL office sponsored Eric W. Davis's 2004 Teleportation Physics Study and Advanced Propulsion Study.[3][4][5] These reports are often cited in UFO discussions as signs of official interest in exotic physics.[2]
Project Outgrowth
In 1970 an ad hoc group of 28 scientists and engineers at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, directed by Donald M. Ross, carried out "Project Outgrowth". Its aim was to predict the major propulsion developments of the next 40 years.[2] The study:[2]
- Chemical rockets. It assessed the future of conventional chemical rocketry.
- New categories. It evaluated "Thermal, Field and Photon Propulsion" concepts in enough depth to define their potential.
- Laser propulsion. It systematically studied Robert L. Geisler's 1969 laser-propulsion concept.
- "Unknown sciences". It included psychokinesis and "psychic forces", tachyon propulsion using faster-than-light particles, and tapping natural electric energy, such as that between the Earth and clouds or the Earth and a missile.
Under Mead's editorship the findings were published in June 1972 as Advanced Propulsion Concepts – Project Outgrowth (AFRPL-TR-72-31). A 2017 AFRL history described it as "the seed that spawned the modern era of studies of advanced concepts".[1][2] The report said it was meant to encourage "talented and interested scientists and engineers to once again strive for 'Advanced Propulsion Concepts'".[2] A 1973 German UFO newsletter article about it, "Wernher Von Braun Warns… And Advanced Propulsion Concepts Project Outgrowth", was later archived by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and forwarded to the CIA.[2]
John Greenewald of The Black Vault noted that the Pentagon's AAWSAP programme began about 37 years later, near the end of Outgrowth's 40-year horizon. He also noted that AAWSAP's research topics, like Outgrowth's, mixed propulsion with fringe science. He stressed that he did not propose a connection.[2] See AAWSAP.
Laser propulsion
Mead's later published work centred on beamed-energy, or laser, propulsion. The bibliography of Davis's 2004 Advanced Propulsion Study lists the following:[3]
- Lightcraft tests. Papers with L. N. Myrabo and D. G. Messitt on ground and flight tests of a laser-boosted "lightcraft" vehicle (1998), and on laser-initiated blast waves for launch-vehicle propulsion (2000).
- Vertical flights. A 2001 paper with C. W. Larson on laser-powered vertical flight experiments at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility.
- X-50LR. A 2002 status report, with Larson and W. M. Kalliomaa, on the X-50LR laser-propulsion programme.
- Patent. A 1996 US patent with J. Nachamkin for a system converting electromagnetic radiation energy to electrical energy (No. 5,590,031).
The Davis studies
Davis's Advanced Propulsion Study (AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2002-0024, published September 2004) lists Dr. Frank Mead of AFRL/PRSP at Edwards as the main recipient of its distribution.[3] It reviewed concepts that might lead to major advances in Earth-to-orbit propulsion. It also evaluated "credible far-term breakthrough propulsion physics concepts" in gravity and inertia modification, spacetime metric modification, and extracting energy from the space vacuum.[3]
The Teleportation Physics Study (AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2003-0034, August 2004) was carried out by Davis at Warp Drive Metrics in Las Vegas under a $25,000 AFRL contract.[4][5] Its scope:[4][5]
- Physics. It reviewed quantum teleportation and proposed two physics models based on manipulating the spacetime metric or vacuum zero-point fluctuations.
- Anomalous phenomena. It reviewed "naturally occurring anomalous teleportation phenomena" previously studied by US and foreign governments, including what the Wikipedia account summarises as the "conveyance of persons by psychic means".
- Reception. James Randi gave the Air Force Research Laboratory a 2004 Pigasus Award for funding it.
The report's DTIC catalogue record names Dr. Franklin B. Mead Jr. of AFRL/PRSP as project manager.[6] The earlier version of this article said Mead "commissioned" the study. The sources read here establish his office's sponsorship and his role as project manager.[3][6]
Notes on the earlier version
The earlier version described Mead as "senior scientist for advanced concepts". It also said he managed studies of antimatter propulsion. Neither the title nor the antimatter work is covered in the sources read here, though his work on beamed-energy propulsion is.[3] The DTIC copy of the Project Outgrowth report could not be read directly; its contents are taken from The Black Vault's archive of the report.[1][2]
Notes on the earlier version
The earlier version described Mead as "senior scientist for advanced concepts". It also said he managed studies of antimatter propulsion. Neither the title nor the antimatter work is covered in the sources read here, though his work on beamed-energy propulsion is.[3] The DTIC copy of the Project Outgrowth report could not be read directly; its contents are taken from The Black Vault's archive of the report.[1][2]
On the UAP Timeline
- Project Outgrowth (June 1972) — An Air Force propulsion lab report, Project Outgrowth, examines advanced propulsion ideas.
- Veritay propulsion report (1988) (April 1988) — A contractor submits a propulsion report to the Air Force led by Franklin Mead.
- SAIC electric propulsion study (1988) (April 1988) — SAIC studies electric propulsion for Edwards AFB.
References
- Advanced Propulsion Concepts – Project Outgrowth, AFRPL-TR-72-31 (PDF) — DTIC · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
- Project Outgrowth — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Eric W. Davis, Advanced Propulsion Study, AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2002-0024 (Sept 2004), via The Black Vault · theblackvault.com
- Eric W. Davis, Teleportation Physics Study, Air Force Research Laboratory (Aug 2004), via The Black Vault · theblackvault.com
- Pigasus Award — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Teleportation Physics Study, AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2003-0034, DTIC record ADA425545 · dtic.mil
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Pigasus Award”, “Pigasus Award”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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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