August–September 2008; programme activity into 2012 / T207
AAWSAP contract and the later AATIP naming controversy
DIA, Washington, D.C.; contractor in Nevada
Witness account
The Defense Intelligence Agency publicly solicited advanced aerospace studies on August 18, 2008, with James Lacatski named as government project leader. A contract went to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies that September. Released records associate this effort with approximately $22 million and a set of technical studies. Its documented name was AAWSAP. AATIP appears in related accounts and later work, but its organizational status, dates and relationship to AAWSAP have been described inconsistently.
Public record
The original solicitation and contract records provide firmer dates than retrospective summaries saying simply that a Pentagon UFO programme began in 2007. Participants also describe UFO and broader anomalous-phenomena investigations associated with the effort; those accounts should be distinguished from the solicitation's stated aerospace research requirements.