Robert Bigelow

Robert Bigelow is an American entrepreneur who made his fortune in the hotel and real estate industry and subsequently invested tens of millions of dollars in anomalous phenomena research and aerospace technology. He founded Bigelow Aerospace in 1999, which developed inflatable space habitat modules, including the BEAM module attached to the International Space Station since 2016.

Bigelow established the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in 1995, hiring scientists to investigate anomalous phenomena using rigorous methodology. NIDS purchased Skinwalker Ranch in Utah in 1996 and conducted a multi-year instrumented investigation of reported phenomena at the site.

In 2008, Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), a subsidiary, won the contract for the Defence Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a $22 million programme to investigate UAP and related phenomena. Under this contract, BAASS produced 38 Defence Intelligence Reference Documents on advanced physics topics and investigated UAP encounters reported by military personnel.

Bigelow has spoken publicly about his belief that extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth, including in a 2017 CBS 60 Minutes interview. He funded the establishment of a tip line for UAP reports and has supported various researchers and research organisations. His dual role as a private citizen investing in both commercial aerospace and anomalous phenomena research is without direct precedent in American industry.