Declassified DIA Briefing Reveals Early Status of Bigelow Ae

Declassified DIA Briefing Reveals Early Status of Bigelow Aerospace's Advanced Aerospace Contract

A declassified DIA briefing paper from May 2009 shows that Senators Reid and Inouye sponsored funding for DIA to investigate foreign advanced aerospace threats out to 40 years, leading to a sole-source contract with Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.

Published

September 7, 2026

Declassified

Date not listed

Source agency

The Black Vault (FOIA archive)

diafoiadeclassifiedbriefingearlystatusbigelowaerospace

Congressional Mandate Spurs Advanced Aerospace Threat Study

In the summer Reid inserted language into the July 2008 Supplemental Appropriation bill directing the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to investigate foreign advanced aerospace weapon threats, projecting from the present day out to forty years into the future. S. national defense.

The directive reflected Senator Reid's deep personal interest in unconventional aerospace technologies, an interest that would soon translate into a concrete government contract. In response to the congressional tasking, the DIA published a request for proposals (RFP) on 18 August 2008, seeking studies of advanced, unconventional concepts across twelve specified technical areas, ranging from lift and propulsion to spatial/temporal translation and human effects. The RFP was highly specialized, and the response was telling: only one bid was received, from Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS).

The DIA deemed the proposal responsive, and the contract was signed on 22 September 2008. This contract, known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System…

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Based on the official release at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/the-advanced-aerospace-weapon-system-applications-program-aawsap-documentation/

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