Ex-NASA Engineer Says Electrostatic Drive Can Overcome Earth’s Gravity

Lead

Former NASA engineer Charles Buhler and his startup, Exodus Propulsion Technologies, say they have built an electrostatic, propellant-less drive that in 2023 produced enough thrust to counteract Earth’s gravity. The claim was presented at the Alternative Propulsion Energy Conference (APEC) and described to the press as evidence of a previously unknown “New Force” that acts via electric fields. Independent verification is lacking, and experts warn that past claims of reactionless drives—most notably the EmDrive—ultimately failed rigorous testing. Until outside labs reproduce the effect under controlled conditions, the result must be treated with caution.

Key Takeaways

• Charles Buhler, formerly of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center electrostatics lab, now co-leads Exodus Propulsion Technologies, which claims a breakthrough in propellant-less propulsion.
• The team reported at APEC that a 2023 test produced thrust sufficient to overcome Earth’s gravity for their device; the company frames this as a discovery of a “New Force” linked to asymmetric electrostatic fields.
• The claim, if true, would overturn standard conservation-of-momentum expectations for closed systems and transform spacecraft design by removing the need for propellant.
• Similar proposals—most notably Roger Shawyer’s EmDrive (introduced in 2001)—generated lab reports of small thrusts but were later nullified by independent tests by 2021.
• Historical precedent: NASA Eagleworks reported anomalous measurements in 2016, but later independent studies, including rigorous university replications, found no usable thrust above experimental artifacts.
• Exodus’s results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal; the company has presented to enthusiast and specialist venues such as APEC and discussed findings in interviews with outlets like The Debrief and Yahoo Tech.
• Experts emphasize that extraordinary claims require repeatable, independently controlled experiments and open data before changing accepted physical theory or engineering practice.

Background

The idea of a reactionless or propellant-less drive has a long, controversial history. In 2001, British engineer Roger Shawyer proposed the EmDrive, a closed microwave cavity that purportedly produced thrust without expelling mass. The claim ran counter to the conservation of momentum and met with intense skepticism from mainstream physics.

Over two decades, a mixture of small lab reports and null results accumulated. A notable moment came in 2016 when NASA’s Eagleworks group published measurements suggesting tiny thrust signals; the team cautioned their instruments were near the limits of sensitivity. Subsequent independent experiments and reviews—culminating in broad skepticism by 2021—found that the earlier signals could be attributed to thermal, electromagnetic, or measurement artifacts rather than a new propulsion principle.

Against that backdrop, a community of engineers and hobbyists has continued to explore unconventional propulsion concepts. Conferences like APEC bring together enthusiasts, independent inventors, and some former aerospace professionals to share experiments that mainstream journals may not immediately cover.

Main Event

Charles Buhler, who helped establish the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center while at NASA, co-founded Exodus Propulsion Technologies after leaving government work. In interviews and a presentation at APEC, Buhler described a sequence of iterative electrostatic devices his group tested over many years, reporting incremental increases in measured thrust.

According to Buhler, the team’s 2023 prototype displayed a non-zero net force when the device included an asymmetry in electrostatic pressure or a divergent field geometry. He framed the effect as evidence of a “New Force” that allows center-of-mass translation without expelling mass, and said the device reached levels of thrust that could counteract gravity.

Exodus’s public descriptions emphasize that the work is independent of NASA and that team members include engineers who formerly worked at organizations such as NASA, Blue Origin, and the U.S. Air Force. The company has shared demonstrations and statements with specialized outlets but has not yet released comprehensive experimental data, methods, or peer-reviewed analysis for external scrutiny.

Company spokespeople and Buhler have invited replication and independent testing, but so far there are no publicly available replication studies from independent laboratories that confirm Exodus’s central claim. Observers note that precisely measuring tiny forces requires careful control of thermal expansion, electrostatic leakage, electromechanical coupling, and other confounding effects.

Analysis & Implications

If reproducible, a propellant-less drive that reliably produces net thrust would have far-reaching technical and economic implications. For orbital operations, removing the need for propellant would radically reduce launch mass and mission costs, enable longer missions without refueling, and change satellite design paradigms. Interplanetary travel architectures would be reassessed if continuous low-thrust translation were possible without propellant budgets.

On the other hand, the theoretical implications are profound. Conservation of momentum and Newtonian mechanics (and their relativistic generalizations) are foundational to modern physics and engineering. Demonstrating a force that creates center-of-mass motion in a closed system would demand rigorous theoretical revision and extraordinary experimental proof, including reproducible measurements, open methods, and peer review.

Past examples illustrate the scientific process at work: anomalous early measurements prompted careful follow-up experiments that eventually identified artifacts or measurement errors. The EmDrive episode shows how promising laboratory signals can evaporate when testing becomes more stringent. For Exodus’s claim to move from curiosity to credible breakthrough, it must clear the same gauntlet of independent replication and method transparency.

Practically speaking, near-term expectations should be modest. The most productive path is structured independent testing by qualified laboratories with detailed protocols, instrument calibration, blind testing where possible, and full data sharing. Only after multiple confirmations across teams and instrument types would the community consider revising theoretical frameworks.

Comparison & Data

The table above places Exodus’s announcement in the context of earlier episodes. Measured signals near instrument noise floors have historically been the locus of mistaken claims. That pattern sets a high bar for the quality of evidence needed to validate Exodus’s assertion.

Reactions & Quotes

Exodus and Buhler have framed the result as a major discovery; outside experts emphasize rigor and reproducibility. The following short excerpts provide context for both positions.

This discovery of a New Force is fundamental in that electric fields alone can generate a sustainable force onto an object and allow center-of-mass translation of said object without expelling mass.

Charles Buhler / Exodus Propulsion (quoted to The Debrief)

Any claim that upends conservation principles requires replicated measurements under independent, blinded conditions before it can be accepted.

Independent propulsion researcher (summarized caution)

Unconfirmed

• That Exodus’s 2023 tests produced reliable, repeatable thrust sufficient to overcome Earth’s gravity; no independent replication has been published.
• The existence of a new fundamental “force” mediated solely by electrostatic field asymmetries; theoretical and experimental support remains absent outside Exodus’s reports.
• The claimed involvement of personnel from specific aerospace companies in a way that implies institutional endorsement; Exodus states former affiliations but the work is unaffiliated with NASA or other employers.

Bottom Line

Exodus Propulsion Technologies’ claim of an electrostatic, propellant-less drive that overcomes gravity is consequential if true, but it currently stands as an extraordinary claim without the extraordinary evidence required to rewrite physics or engineering practice. The pattern from prior episodes—measured anomalies later traced to mundane causes—makes skepticism the responsible posture.

The appropriate next steps are transparent methods, peer-reviewed publication, and independent replications with rigorous controls. Readers and policymakers should watch for third-party verification rather than media summaries alone; only replicated, reproducible results will move this from speculation to accepted science.

Sources

• Yahoo Tech — News report on Exodus Propulsion and interview summary (news)
• The Debrief — outlet hosting interviews and APEC coverage (news/interview)
• White et al., 2016 (arXiv) — NASA Eagleworks experimental report on resonant-cavity thrust (preprint/technical)