Boeing tries to defy gravity

This document, a BBC News report dated 29 July 2002, details efforts by the aerospace company Boeing to investigate anti-gravity technology. The report highlights that Boeing's 'Phantom Works' division in Seattle is examining experimental work originally conducted by Russian scientist Yevgeny Podkletnov at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland in 1992. Podkletnov claimed that objects positioned above a rotating, superconducting ceramic disc subjected to powerful electromagnets experienced a reduction in weight. Although many conventional scientists remain skeptical and have been unable to replicate these results, George Muellner, the head of Phantom Works, reportedly told Jane's Defence Weekly that the science appeared valid and plausible. The document notes that Boeing is testing this hypothesis under a programme codenamed 'Project Grasp' (Gravity Research Applied to Space Propulsion). Furthermore, the report mentions that other institutions are pursuing similar research, including the UK's BAE Systems, which is working on a programme called 'Project Greenglow,' and NASA, which has attempted to replicate Podkletnov's findings, though a preliminary report suggested the effect does not exist. The article emphasizes the potential implications of such technology for aviation, specifically regarding the reduction of energy required for flight.