Veritay propulsion report (1988)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | April 1988 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic), Propulsion & physics (topic) |
| People | Franklin Mead, Thomas Townsend Brown, Mark McCandlish |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 100 |
| Year | 1988 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1988 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
In April 1988 the small company Veritay Technology of East Amherst, New York, delivered to the U.S. Air Force a Phase I report, 21st Century Propulsion Concept, on experiments to test the Biefeld–Brown effect — the thrust claimed by Thomas Townsend Brown for highly charged capacitors. A follow-up final report in 1991 found no propulsive force in a vacuum.[1][2]
Phase I (1988)
The 73-page Phase I report described tests designed to confirm the effect, check whether it worked in a vacuum and measure its size, using a vacuum chamber and a torsion-fibre measurement system, with symmetrical arrangements to reduce reaction forces from nearby objects. Tests were run at atmospheric pressure and in partial vacuum. The report said that when a voltage was applied between asymmetrical electrodes of an all-metal device, a small residual force acted on it — but in the opposite direction to the "electric wind" forces and to the forces Brown claimed to have measured in a vacuum.[1]
The final report (1991)
The full study, by Veritay's Robert L. Talley, was published in 1991 as Air Force report PL-TR-91-3009. Using a device hung from a torsion wire inside a vacuum chamber, Talley found no detectable propulsive force induced by a static voltage under high vacuum, attributing the force he observed to electrostatic interaction with the chamber, while leaving open that a very small force might exist.[2][3]
Significance
A 2004 NASA report on asymmetrical capacitor thrusters described Talley's vacuum work as the only written report it had found in half a century that measured such a force in a vacuum chamber.[3] The testimony notes the result matters because later witnesses, such as illustrator Mark McCandlish in 2001, claimed the Brown effect had been used to build secret U.S. craft; in the public record, the Air Force's own tests could not confirm the effect.[2][4]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Franklin Mead — Air Force propulsion engineer who edited Project Outgrowth and commissioned advanced propulsion studies.
- Edwards Air Force Base — The Air Force flight test center in California.
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Physicist and inventor who promoted "electrogravitics" and proposed Project Winterhaven.
- Mark McCandlish — Aerospace illustrator who drew the alleged "Alien Reproduction Vehicle".
- Project Outgrowth — Project Outgrowth
On the Timeline
- John Lear's ParaNet statement (1987) (29 December 1987) — Pilot John Lear claims the government has worked with gray aliens since the 1960s.
- SAIC electric propulsion study (1988) (April 1988) — SAIC studies electric propulsion for Edwards AFB.
See every 1988 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "21st Century Propulsion Concept, April 1988, Veritay Technology Inc.", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Robert L. Talley, "Twenty First Century Propulsion Concept" (PL-TR-91-3009, 1991), DTIC · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
- Francis X. Canning et al., "Asymmetrical capacitors for propulsion" (NASA/CR-2004-213312), NASA (PDF) · ntrs.nasa.gov · archived copy
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- 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
- apps.dtic.mil · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
Further reading
- Edwards Air Force Base — 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.
No discussion yet.