X Descending

by Christian Lambright

  On reading Myrabo’s letter and article, two aspects of this find were most interesting to me. First, that Myrabo was, in 1978, somehow in position to see Warren’s article, a paper clearly presented in a UFO-oriented forum. Unfortunately, Myrabo’s letter does not explain how he came to read Warren’s paper or whether he might have attended the conference himself. Perhaps Warren’s paper was circulated in some other more private manner. But secondly, and perhaps more significantly, in Myrabo’s own paper he had included several small sketches of disc-shaped vehicles—including a brief discussion of the possibility of using beamed energy to mitigate shockwave effects. His sketches at that time were clearly not what he would later see in Ray Stanford’s images, but in this 1978 paper it was easy to see ideas that almost certainly helped him to immediately recognize aspects of the technology he saw when he visited Stanford nine years later.

  Perhaps the most amazing bit of synchronicity to come from finding Myrabo’s letter to Warren was this: in his 1977 MUFON paper, the very paper that Myrabo read with interest, Dr. Warren actually named Ray Stanford and Project Starlight International as an example of an organization out to gather more complete data on UFO sightings. Who knows whether nine years later, as he sat in Ray’s home, Myrabo realized he was meeting with the very man Warren had mentioned by name.

  Since Myrabo’s original experiments on the Air Spike concept and the announcements about the DEAS concept were first presented in the early 1990’s, a number of other studies have been done exploring the use of beamed energy as a means to reduce or modify shock effects. New applications are being explored that extend from the obvious drag reduction uses to the capability of steering control by concentrating energy beams at varying points ahead of a vehicle. A paper published by AIAA in 2003 titled “Steady and Unsteady Supersonic Flow Control with Energy Addition” (AIAA 2003-3862, co-authored coincidentally by Yu. P. Raizer, who worked with Myrabo on his 1994 Air Spike paper) cites 13 references to publications between 1959 and 1993, but 32 published from 1994 to 2003. Things definitely seemed to have heated up after 1993.

  The most incredible study I found to date, and one producing an image startlingly reminiscent of what is caught in Ray’s film, is one conducted at the Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics-CTA in São José dos Campos, Brazil. I first learned of this in an article that appeared on Photonics.com titled “CO2 Lasers Expose Hypersonic Flow”8. In this study of the DEAS concept, a lens was used to focus CO2 lasers at a point slightly ahead of a small 100mm disc-shaped model.

  The Brazilian study was attributed to Marco A. S. Minucci and colleagues, with a brief comment that the experiments are being conducted in collaboration with “a US-based research team”. The small and very colorful image accompanying the article shows the luminous layers of the shock waves created in the hypersonic flow. It also shows the unique cone-shaped wave produced by the breakdown of the atmosphere by the energy beam. The resulting image of a disk appearing to glow inside the luminous airflow was enough to bring a smile to my face. At the time of the article, researchers were reporting detecting drag reduction of up to 40 percent!

  The mention of a US-based research team was obviously also intriguing. Something about Minucci’s name rang a bell, and looking back through the information I had collected I soon found why. His name appears numerous times in papers co-authored with Leik Myrabo. Minucci, as it turns out, studied at RPI and received his Masters and Doctorate from there before returning to a position in Brazil. He is listed as a student participant in the above Apollo Lightcraft Project where he worked on Transatmospheric Vehicle Design in the fall of 1987 and Theory of Propulsion the following spring. To date, his name still appears closely associated with Myrabo and others in papers relating to the DEAS concept.

  Since 1995 I have continued to watch the growing body of work on the DEAS concept, principally noting articles and papers published by other researchers who specifically referenced Myrabo’s work. While I knew of the connection to Ray and had no doubt that Myrabo’s newer designs (i.e. disc-shapes with DEAS energy beams—Figure 13) were virtual models of the vehicle in Ray’s film,it was still apparent that his published conceptual designs lacked a way to produce the narrow beam of energy extending over a substantial distance. With a relatively lightweight vehicle being propelled by laser energy beamed at it from the rear, where do you find the energy to fire a beam forward? Myrabo’s concept required creating the air spike by refocusing energy being beamed to it from in front or above—which clearly would require pre-existing space based laser stations. Launching vehicles into space with lasers stationed below and above is still years in the future. Likewise, disc-shaped vehicles traveling on-edge in our atmosphere and relying on those systems for propulsion must be just as far off. But the potential for using directed energy to reduce drag and shockwaves is now a proven concept that exists within our science.

  Over time, images of saucer-shaped vehicles with directed energy beams have turned up in a number of intriguing places. One particularly interesting picture, originally for the Advanced Space Transportation Program, appears in the image gallery of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The concept was clearly illustrated even though it only showed a beam of energy focused to a point ahead of the vehicle rather than a beam that extended for a considerable distance. All the ingredients were there, but the illustration still missed the intrinsically beautiful aspects I had seen in Ray’s images. Even without a degree in physics and aerospace engineering it is not difficult to sense that beam probably serves purposes on a number of different levels. The illustrations were all fascinating, but it was still clear that, as happens with most science and breakthroughs, it would take more time to figure out all the details. Producing a narrow pulsing beam generating the desired results over a substantial distance was still a problem.

  "Not being known doesn’t stop the truth from being true."

  —Richard Bach

  At the end of 2002 I visited Ray again. He remains, in my opinion, a man with observational abilities that are downright uncanny. The latest computer enhanced images he had made from the film were far and away the most amazing yet.

  Still, despite all my encouragement, I had growing doubts whether any of it would ever be published. Ray has always been a good friend, and when it comes to matters of this phenomenon I trust him implicitly. But why he had never published anything was confusing, and the feeling that something was not right nagged at me more than ever. There was also the very real possibility that time could run out—neither of us was getting any younger. I had been pressing him all along to publish his films, or at least to reveal what he had, and I was still not going to give up.

  At the end of November 2003, MSNBC.com published an article by Leonard David (of Space.com) under the title Beyond the Bounds of Gravity. It presented a look at revolutionary propulsion research being studied as part of NASA’s Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project. The lead illustration for the article depicted one of Myrabo’s early designs for laser-propelled vehicles. Further down in the article, in a section aptly titled “Worldwide Phenomenon”, was a much more elaborate illustration prepared for Marshall Space Flight Center that showed the post-1993 design. This section of the article began with a quote by Myrabo that “We’re clearly at a threshold”, and went on to identify him as the newly elected President of the International Society for Beamed Energy Propulsion. After ten years, I had to agree…we clearly were at a threshold.

  I decided the time had come to write to Myrabo again. By the middle of 2004 I hoped that a friendly conversation between him, Ray, and me might move things toward a fair presentation of Ray’s evidence. In my mind it was long overdue and so, in June of 2004 I sent another email to Myrabo. Over the next few days and weeks he, Ray, and I exchanged a series of emails. My initial questions to Myrabo were about his impression of the film and what he thought the future might hold. In his first reply he implied that his memory was not very clear about the images and that, in fact, he had
only seen them briefly. Strangely though, he recalled perfectly how protective Ray is with the film, even mentioning it in a way that let me know his memory was much clearer than he was suggesting. Below is my response:

  Hi Leik,

  I saw Ray’s images first in 1986 and then a couple of other times over the years since. He is very protective of the film, just as you said, and to my knowledge has never given copies to anyone. He’s still alive and kicking but we haven’t talked in quite a while.

  My interest all along has been with the significance of it all. By, in essence, modeling what Ray filmed (on-edge discs using beams of energy ahead of them to affect the airflow) and validating the DEAS concept, you’ve established pretty compelling evidence that what Ray caught on film represents a level of technology that hadn’t even been demonstrated here yet. Following that to any kind of rational conclusion, what could anyone conclude? What have you concluded?

  I do think as much about what I do know as what I might not know, just to keep some perspective. But in the long run, what are the reasons for not publishing something that at least acknowledges the film? If not just for science, I still say there’s a Nobel in it. There would be some controversy, there always is, but everyone remembers Galileo…not many remember the other guys. Anyway…you get the idea.

  Thanks,

  Chris

  When he wrote back asking for my telephone number so we could talk further, it was a bit of a surprise. He was also interested in talking to Ray and possibly showing Ray the theoretical work on the DEAS concept. But, as for the film, all he would say was, “But the ‘on-edge discs using beams of energy ahead of them to affect the airflow’ does seem to ring a bell, so to speak.” I would imagine so—it was exactly what the DEAS concept was all about.

  After that, I wrote him to say that it was probably best for him to discuss his ideas with Ray directly. I told him I would be happy to speak to him, but I also told him I was a little confused about his apparent faded memory of the situation. The way I worded it was…

  “There are some parts I’m confused about though. Ray has told me that you spent a day or two visiting (I think he said the young man who first told you about Ray was there too), that you had been very interested in the potential significance of Ray’s images, and had even talked to another researcher on the West coast trying to encourage him to see what Ray had.

  Then, I easily recognized the similarities in the hypershock experiments and ultimately all the illustrations appeared that clearly mimic what is in Ray’s film. So I’m just having a little trouble trying to tie that together with your saying you barely remember anything about what Ray showed you. But I’m just looking at this as an observer so it’s probably something best discussed with Ray.”

  At that point he really wanted to talk. He wrote back that he would try to reach Ray, but he wanted to talk to me first. Apparently he had a few questions about me and wanted to know what my “vested interest” was in promoting collaboration between him and Ray. In response to his request, I had a long telephone conversation with him on June 9th, 2004. During that call I made clear that I had no vested interest beyond wanting to see the truth told, though it was something I felt strongly about. I felt Ray deserved to be recognized and credited for his work and that far more could be learned from the evidence he has. But how that could all be done was something he obviously needed to talk to Ray about.

  The most important thing to come out of that call was the possibility of finally presenting Ray’s material in a credible scientific forum. The International Society for Beamed Energy Propulsion had recently begun holding annual meetings and, at Myrabo’s suggestion, the 3rd International Symposium On Beamed Energy Propulsion (ISBEP), scheduled to take place in October of 2004 (coincidentally at RPI), seemed like the perfect place to do it.

  Unfortunately the possibility quickly evaporated. All of the stipulations Myrabo placed on where and how Ray’s material should be presented virtually guaranteed it would never happen. Myrabo’s offer to help arrange a presentation at the ISBEP was reduced to a suggestion of an automated presentation, a DVD, planned to run during breaks and with absolutely no commentary at all! Ray decided to politely decline the invitation under those terms, and while it was unfortunate, it was very understandable. At the same time I was acutely aware that what was offered and subsequently declined might have been exactly what was expected to happen. Whatever was discussed between Ray and Myrabo, I heard nothing more about it. Needless to say, from my point of view, the truth went back into the closet.

  If there was an acceptable rationale for hiding the connection between Ray’s film and the obvious insights that Myrabo drew from it, I think it would have occurred to me in the past ten years. The facts reveal a profound truth that everyone deserves to know. It is a point I have tried very hard to impress on Ray in encouraging him to reveal his film. As much work as he has invested in substantiating this phenomenon, and as strongly as I have sensed that he wants to validate his work, his seemingly passive attitude at times has been very confusing. I have talked to him about it, trying to uncover any personal reservations he might have. The fact that neither of us is getting any younger is even more of a growing concern, and after an incident in which his health was in question I tried even harder to encourage him to do something while he still can. It has been extremely worrisome to realize that as the prime witness and only person with his level of knowledge about the film, Ray himself is vitally important. Without him available to stand behind the images and explain what he knows, the provenance of the films could well be lost. My hope was always that he would finally agree to reveal everything about them, both what he knows and what I found. He has the evidence, and as strongly as I want him to get the credit he deserves, I have often put it to him in simple terms, “If you win, we all win.”

  He has finally mentioned the film, though only in an online interview broadcast on the Virtually Strange Network9, and in a few more private conversations. In 2004, he reportedly discussed it during a presentation at a conference in Europe, though the one fact, the one connection that would raise the phenomenon out of myth and into mainstream science, was not mentioned. I do know that a few others are now aware of the film and the connection to Myrabo after Ray made a quick mention of it during a presentation in Austin, Texas in 2007. Once or twice I tested the waters by quietly revealing bits of information, but because I felt Ray would and should do this, I have refrained from publishing anything more until now.

  I have kept silent out of friendship and a sense of wanting to do right by everyone involved. But it has not been easy accepting that what I have looked for all these years, and what I am sure many others have hoped so long to find, Ray already has—and for too long it has just been sitting there.

  “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened..”

  —Winston Churchill

  In doing the research for this book I also looked for other information relating to propulsion and aerodynamics involving discs and projected beams of energy. Lenticular, or lens-shaped, vehicles are not that unique in themselves, though virtually every design for one to date has shown it in a horizontal plane, like the common Frisbee. Looking for connections between discs and beams, or beams alone being used in unique ways, did lead to a number of interesting finds.

  One of the more subtle characteristics I can recall from looking at the images of the vehicles Ray caught on film, is a swirling pattern visible in the area around the periphery of the disc. It is faint but noticeable, as though the excess ionization around the disc is being “spun off”, creating a pattern reminiscent of spiral arms. The effect did not seem to extend for a great distance, but what was visible left the distinct impression that something was rotating, perhaps rapidly. Over time I began to wonder if the visible effects might indicate more of what was happening around the vehicle. They might also imply that the pulsing beam may serve more of a purpose than simply mitiga
ting shockwaves.

  In the images, along the length of the beam there are traces visible that are very reminiscent of the arcing patterns of magnetic fields. If the glow around the vehicle is ionization that is being affected by a magnetic field, but shows spiraling arms as it spreads away from the vehicle, then one possible implication may be that either the magnetic field is being rotated around the vehicle or there is a rotational aspect to the vehicle itself.

  The concept of a disc surrounded by a rotating magnetic field (or a rotating disc with a concurrent rotating magnetic field) has appeared in a number of articles and experiments in recent years, including experiments conducted by Dr. Eugene Podkletnov in Finland in 1992. While experimenting with a superconducting disc, actually a ring with an open central hole, the disc was magnetically levitated and then rotated to a very high speed. As chance would have it, Podkletnov noticed that smoke drifting slowly over the disc began to form a column rising over the open center of the spinning superconductor. Puzzled by this effect, he soon began experimenting with it directly and found that objects suspended in this central column above the rotating disc appeared to lose between 2 and 5 percent of their weight.

  Some controversy surrounds Podkletnov’s experiments, but in 1997 NASA’s antigravity project at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) reportedly attempted to reproduce the experiment from Podkletnov’s design10. Ning Li, senior researcher at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, had theorized years earlier that a rotating superconductor in a strong magnetic field might disrupt local gravitational forces. She has published several papers in respected scientific journals on the theory and also worked with MSFC to create the disc used in the 1997 NASA antigravity experiments.