Person
Robert Bigelow
Also known as Bigelow, Bob Bigelow
- Founder, Bigelow Aerospace; head of BAASS, the AAWSAP contractor
Robert Bigelow is a Las Vegas billionaire who made his fortune with the Budget Suites of America extended-stay chain and has spent decades and much of that fortune on space and the paranormal. He founded Bigelow Aerospace in 1999, whose BEAM expandable module was attached to the International Space Station in 2016. Earlier he funded the National Institute for Discovery Science, which hired Eric Davis and had Hal Puthoff and Edgar Mitchell on its advisory board, and in 1996 he bought Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, which he owned until 2016.
He was the private engine behind the Pentagon's first modern UAP program. A longtime friend and campaign donor of Senator Harry Reid, he gave to Reid's campaign committee and leadership PAC from 1998 to 2010, according to FEC records and Politico. By Reid's own account to The New York Times, Bigelow first interested him in the subject in 2007, when he told Reid a DIA official wanted to visit his ranch. Reid then steered $22 million to the DIA's AAWSAP, run by James Lacatski, and Bigelow's new subsidiary BAASS won the contract. Puthoff says it was an open competition, while Vice reported Bigelow was the sole bidder. AARO's 2024 report says the contractor went beyond its brief into UFO and paranormal research at Bigelow's ranch, and proposed a PR campaign premised on "E.T. visitations". The DIA ended the program in 2012.
George Knapp and Luis Elizondo say Bigelow negotiated to take custody of recovered material held by Lockheed Martin, a transfer they say was blocked; AARO says the named companies deny holding any such material. Bigelow has said he is "absolutely convinced" aliens have visited Earth. He later funded research on life after death through the Bigelow Institute, and has become one of the largest donors to Republican causes.
Sources: AARO historical report (2024) · The New York Times (16 December 2017) · Politico (16 December 2017) · FEC records · Las Vegas Sun (October 2022) · July 2023, November 2024 and September 2025 hearings · Wikipedia
Facts and claims
- documented AARO's 2024 historical report states that the DIA's $22 million AAWSAP contract was awarded to a private-sector organization; Bigelow's BAASS subsidiary was the contractor. Source: Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program
- claimed The New York Times reported in December 2017 that most of the program's money went to the company of “a billionaire entrepreneur and longtime friend of Mr. Reid's, Robert Bigelow”, and that Reid said his interest in UFOs came from Bigelow: in 2007 Bigelow told him a DIA official wanted to visit his Utah ranch, after which Reid met DIA officials and set up the funding. — Harry Reid Source: nytimes.com (archived)
- claimed Politico reported that Reid started the program through an earmark “after he was persuaded in part by” Bigelow, “a friend and fellow Nevadan”, and that Bigelow “was also a regular contributor to Reid's reelection campaigns, campaign finance records show, at least $10,000 from 1998 to 2008.” Source: politico.com (archived)
- documented Federal Election Commission records list contributions from Robert Bigelow to Reid's campaign committee, Friends for Harry Reid, in 1998, 2003 and 2010, and to Reid's leadership PAC, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, in 2003 and 2004, including $5,000 from Bigelow Development Aerospace LLC on 30 June 2004. His wife Diane Bigelow also gave to Friends for Harry Reid in 1998, 2004 and 2010. Source: fec.gov (archived)
- documented AARO's report says the contractor conducted UFO research that was not in the contract's statement of work, with the support of the DIA program manager, and investigated UAP and paranormal reports, including “shadow figures” and “creatures”, at a Utah property then owned by the head of the contractor; it also proposed a public-relations campaign that would assume “E.T. visitations are true”. Source: AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1
- claimed Hal Puthoff says the DIA chose Bigelow's company through an open broad area announcement, “not a sweetheart deal”. Vice, as cited by Reason, reported that Bigelow lobbied for the program's creation and that his organisation was the sole bidder. — Hal Puthoff Source: Hal Puthoff Presentation 06/08/2018 at 12:15
- claimed Under Bigelow's direction, according to The New York Times, his company modified buildings in Las Vegas to store metal alloys and other materials that Luis Elizondo and contractors said had been recovered from UAP; on CBS's 60 Minutes in 2017 he said he was “absolutely convinced” that aliens exist and have visited Earth. Source: nytimes.com (archived)
- claimed George Knapp testified that he confirmed on the record that Bigelow and a trusted AAWSAP colleague negotiated a deal with senior Lockheed Martin executives for BAASS to receive unusual material stored in California. Luis Elizondo testified that the transfer was blocked and required a Secretary of the Air Force memo that never came. — George Knapp Source: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection at 50:08
- documented AARO's report says executives of the companies named by interviewees denied on the record that they had ever recovered, possessed or reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology. Source: AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1
- claimed The Las Vegas Sun reported that Bigelow gave at least $47 million to mostly Republican causes in the 2022 cycle, while noting his friendship with Reid “despite political differences between the two”. Source: lasvegassun.com (archived)
Connected files
Books
Events
- Robert Bigelow buys Skinwalker Ranch (subject of)
- Brandon Fugal acquires Skinwalker Ranch (sold) — Bigelow sold Skinwalker Ranch in 2016 to Adamantium Real Estate for around $500,000
Organizations
- Bigelow Aerospace (founded)
- Lockheed Martin (allegedly negotiated with) — Knapp says Bigelow negotiated with Lockheed executives for BAASS to receive material; AARO says the companies deny holding any
People
- George Knapp (chronicled by) — Through Bigelow and AAWSAP he became the public chronicler of the Skinwalker Ranch research
- Glenn Gaffney (allegedly blocked by) — Knapp, Davis and Chris Sharp name him as the CIA official who blocked Lockheed from handing material to BAASS
- Harry Reid (friend of) — A longtime friend and campaign donor, Bigelow first interested Reid in the subject in 2007
- James Lacatski (contracted by) — Bigelow's BAASS won the contract for AAWSAP, which Lacatski ran
- James T. Ryder (allegedly negotiated with) — Knapp says Ryder negotiated to hand BAASS “leftovers, scraps” of recovered material
- Hal Puthoff (hired) — Puthoff sat on the advisory board of Bigelow's NIDS, and his EarthTech was a BAASS subcontractor under AAWSAP
- Eric Davis (hired) — Bigelow hired Davis at the National Institute for Discovery Science in 1996
- Colm Kelleher (employed) — Kelleher worked on UAP research for Bigelow at BAASS
Programs
- Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (contractor for) — His subsidiary BAASS won the $22 million AAWSAP contract
Places
- Skinwalker Ranch (owned)
Videos
- “These Are Parts Of an Alien UFO!”: Garry Nolan at Stanford (American Alchemy) (discussed in)
- Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform) (discussed in)
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (discussed in)
- Mystery Wire: the Bigelow–Lacatski connection, AAWSAP and New Insights (8 News Now, January 2026) (discussed in) — Knapp recounts how Bigelow's Skinwalker Ranch led Lacatski to create AAWSAP
- Jay Stratton's first on-camera interview, recorded 2022 (WEAPONIZED, released October 2026) (discussed in)
- Hal Puthoff Presentation 06/08/2018 (discussed in)
- Breaking UFO Story: ‘Immaculate Constellation’ UFO Program (Ft. Michael Shellenberger) (discussed in)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2314: Hal Puthoff (discussed in)
Mentioned in videos
- “The Government UFO Boss”: James Lacatski, part 2, on New Insights (WEAPONIZED, November 2025)
- Mystery Wire: the Bigelow–Lacatski connection, AAWSAP and New Insights (8 News Now, January 2026)
- “This is UFO disclosure, as far as it can go”: James Lacatski on Future Visions (WEAPONIZED, April 2026)
- Jay Stratton's first on-camera interview, recorded 2022 (WEAPONIZED, released October 2026)
Mentioned in documents and records
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insiders' Account of the Secret Government UFO Program
- Defense Intelligence Agency
More people
Links
- Pentagon's Secret UFO Program (The New York Times, 16 December 2017)
- The Pentagon's Secret Search for UFOs (Politico, 16 December 2017)
- FEC filing: Friends for Harry Reid, contribution from Robert Bigelow (June 2010)
- FEC filing: Searchlight Leadership Fund, contributions from Bigelow Development Aerospace LLC and Robert Bigelow (June 2004)
- FEC filing: Friends for Harry Reid, contribution from Robert Bigelow (June 2003)
- FEC filing: Friends for Harry Reid, contribution from Robert Bigelow (August 1998)