Image Courtesy: Getty Images
A former NASA engineer says his team has developed a propulsion system capable of generating thrust without expelling propellant, a claim that, if verified, could reshape the future of space travel and challenge long-standing assumptions about physics.
The technology comes from Exodus Propulsion Technologies, a private company led by Charles Buhler, an electrostatics specialist who helped establish the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Buhler claims his team has discovered what he calls a “New Force,” generated by electric fields, that can produce enough thrust to counter Earth’s gravity without ejecting mass. The extraordinary claim has attracted attention but has not yet been independently verified. Details of the project have been discussed publicly, according to Popular Mechanics.
The announcement has drawn comparisons to the controversial EmDrive, a propulsion concept introduced in 2001 by British engineer Roger Shawyer. The EmDrive gained attention because it appeared to generate thrust without propellant, seemingly violating the conservation of momentum, a fundamental law of physics. While early experiments produced promising signals, later studies failed to confirm the effect, and researchers ultimately concluded that measurement errors were responsible for the observed thrust.
Buhler says his team’s work followed decades of research into propellant-free propulsion. According to his account, early devices generated only tiny amounts of thrust, but performance improved through successive designs. He claims a breakthrough came in 2023 when a test system reportedly produced enough force to overcome Earth’s gravitational pull.
The engineer argues that systems containing asymmetrical electrostatic pressures or divergent electric fields can generate a measurable force on an object. He has also stated that his team conducted roughly 2,000 vacuum-chamber experiments while investigating the phenomenon.
Despite the bold claims, independent confirmation remains the biggest obstacle. As of May 2026, no outside laboratory has publicly replicated the reported results using its own equipment and testing methods. Researchers generally consider independent reproduction essential before accepting findings that appear to contradict established scientific principles.
For now, scientists remain cautious. While it is possible that the experiments have uncovered an unknown physical effect, history offers many examples of propulsion breakthroughs that failed to withstand rigorous testing. Until outside researchers can consistently reproduce the results, the gravity-defying engine remains an intriguing but unproven concept.