IN A NUTSHELL
  • 🚀 A new propulsion technology claims to revolutionize space travel by generating thrust without expelling propellant, challenging established physical laws.
  • 📚 The concept echoes the controversial EmDrive, which failed scientific validation, highlighting the need for rigorous testing of bold claims.
  • 🌟 Charles Buhler and his team, including experts from NASA and Blue Origin, propose an engine based on a new electrostatic “New Force.”
  • 🔬 The technology’s potential validation could transform commercial space exploration, but scientific scrutiny remains essential to confirm its feasibility.

In an extraordinary breakthrough, a new propulsion technology has emerged that could potentially revolutionize space travel. This innovation, claimed to defy the established laws of physics, has left the scientific community in awe and skepticism. The invention suggests generating thrust without the need to expel propellant, challenging long-held principles in physics. While this development could pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in manned space exploration, it also raises significant questions and doubts among experts.

The History of the EmDrive and Lingering Skepticism

The concept of a propellantless engine isn’t entirely new. Back in 2001, British electrical engineer Roger Shawyer introduced the infamous “EmDrive,” often dubbed the “impossible engine.” This device claimed to produce thrust without any reaction mass, thereby defying the law of conservation of momentum. Despite the initial excitement, subsequent studies, particularly in 2021, concluded that the EmDrive held no scientific merit. Such precedents underscore the necessity for independent verification of extraordinary claims.

The skepticism surrounding propellantless engines persists due to the lack of empirical evidence supporting their feasibility. Scientists and engineers emphasize the importance of rigorous testing and validation to ensure that these claims stand up to scientific scrutiny. As history has shown, the allure of groundbreaking technology often collides with the harsh realities of physics, necessitating a cautious approach to revolutionary claims.

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Charles Buhler’s Bold Gamble

More recently, Charles Buhler, an ex-NASA engineer and co-founder of Exodus Propulsion Technologies, unveiled an electrostatic engine based on what he calls the “New Force.” He asserts that this engine can overcome Earth’s gravity through an asymmetry in electrostatic pressure or a divergent electrostatic field. Although his research is not officially affiliated with NASA, his team includes experts from NASA, Blue Origin, and the Air Force, all aware of the environmental impacts of space technologies. This group has been working for decades on propellantless engines.

Buhler’s claims have sparked interest and debate within the scientific community. His team’s interdisciplinary expertise lends credibility to the endeavor, yet the lack of formal NASA backing highlights the speculative nature of the project. If successful, Buhler’s innovation could lead to more sustainable and efficient space travel, reducing the reliance on traditional chemical propulsion systems and minimizing environmental impact.

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Scientific Presentation and Implications

The discovery was showcased at the Alternative Propulsion Energy Conference (APEC), a gathering of engineers and enthusiasts eager to push the boundaries of gravity and physics. According to Buhler, this technology allows electric fields alone to generate continuous force on an object without expelling matter. He hopes that companies will seek licenses to employ this innovative technique.

In 2023, after extensive research, the engine successfully produced sufficient thrust to counteract Earth’s gravity. Tests conducted from early 2022 until November 2023 confirmed this milestone achievement. It’s important to note that current prototypes weigh between 1.06 and 1.41 ounces, underscoring the potential for scalable applications. This advancement could redefine the future of space travel, offering new avenues for exploration and commercialization.

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Towards Scientific Validation?

While initial results are promising, rigorous scientific verification is now imperative. The history of propellantless engines is replete with examples where seemingly promising results proved disappointing following meticulous testing, as was the case with the EmDrive.

Buhler himself acknowledges, “Nature has its own ways of doing things, and it’s our job to discover what it does.” He also hopes that these devices can be tested in space to explore their full potential. If this technology is validated through research, it could unlock new possibilities for commercial space exploration. However, each step must be closely examined to ensure a comprehensive understanding before considering widespread application.

As we stand on the brink of a potential paradigm shift in space propulsion, the world watches with bated breath. Could Charles Buhler’s groundbreaking invention truly alter the landscape of space exploration, or will rigorous scientific scrutiny reveal its limitations? Only time and thorough investigation will tell. What impact could such a technological breakthrough have on the future of space travel and our understanding of the universe?

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Hina Dinoo is a Toronto-based journalist at Sustainability Times, covering the intersection of science, economics, and environmental change. With a degree from Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism, she translates complexity into clarity. Her work focuses on how systems — ecological, financial, and social — shape our sustainable future. Contact: [email protected]

84 Comments
    • I am shocked that, based on the comments, people seem to think this technology is remotely true. This is “a new” and where to believe this technology actually works without significant and rigorous outside testing?

      Come on people! For the love of Zeus, please don’t believe everything you read.

    • Right ?

      It’s completely made up nonsense, very Musk like. Make a wild a$$ claim, attack anyone disputing that claim, make big money.

      Insanity that it’s even taken half seriously but here we are in post truth 2025.

      • Strange you would disparage EM . I use PayPal, drive a tesla, use some digital currency, am very happy SpaceX brought 2 astronauts back from the iss…butler has a history of getting good people to work on abstract projects. So far, without success.

    • ChairmanOfTheBored on

      It’s not anti-gravity… It doesn’t violate physics… Go read Buhler’s actual words. It’s a form of electrostatic propulsion with some promise for extremely lightweight applications. Cool stuff, but everyone needs to settle down.

    • The EM drive was validated by NASA and found to be valid.
      It is not a gravity drive, it is is a gravity canceling drive. Do your research.

    • christopher Fritz/Dixon on

      Out of 70 i read this is absolutely what we are looking for. Eager minds to plant seeds of possiblities and watch them grow. Today you are a olive tree. So electric blanket. Maybe three. Air mattress. Stero car maybe home sound. Up/ Forward
      down backward left right fade and last but nit least treble / bass control speed. Hold on wait for it. Go. [email protected]

    • grey velereon on

      This is psychotically overhyped. We’ve already known you could do this like everybody already knows you can do this the problem is that it doesn’t produce like any thrust and you could move like a toaster very very slowly in space but you couldn’t get anything off the ground it would take literally hundreds of years to get up to any like useful velocity you could not escape the solar system ever…. I don’t like…. what is going on in this article

    • They already have been dealing with this back in 2018. I guy named Franklin Diaz Chang had protypes being tested. This sounds like a continuation of that work.

  1. If you are going to write an article with gpt, maybe don’t use AI art as well to make it so painfully obvious.

  2. William Russell on

    These comments are obviously AI driven. A single line, a single thought, nothing attracting or detracting from the discussion. Prove me wrong. Gee, I might be an AI.

    • Actually that would also involve creating a warp bubble via the Casimir effect, which was accidentally discovered in 2022(warp bubbles were accidentally discovered). Now they are focusing on how to create one on a larger scale. Google how fast you can get to Proxima Centauri on 1G of propulsion without the warp bubble. Then google with the warp bubble. They just need to upscale things and finish figuring out fusion energy and possibly throw in some antimatter. Then we are good to go anywhere in the Universe within a lifetime. Sounds more Stargate-ish than Star Trek-ish but we are getting there.

  3. Only real way to make a propellantless drive is as follows. It would require that all gravitational forces be reflected from one side and then with time and gravity only pulling it from the front it would continue to accelerate. Gonaheaf and figure it out …

  4. Thanks I’m very interested I’m now 53 and strive on my inventions sins I’ve been 16….now that I can use. My selfone as a dictionary everything get easier….watch this space…..u’ll get to hear from me soon

  5. Im calling hoax. It would be so easy to prove to the world that it works. Considering how long ago this was announcing , I call shenanigans.

    • God bless. This would be real UFO technology. Like buhler said, nature has its ways. Video example of this anti gravity technology would set the truth free. Like when self driving cars were introduced. Fascinating. Amazing. Inspiring.

  6. God bless. This is real UFO technology. Nature has its ways like Bhuler said. Video example of this would set the truth free.We’ll see this technology come to light like self driving cars. Surprising. Amazing. Inspiring.

  7. Dennis Mummert on

    Please God – Why?
    It seems that; yes, contrary to accepted wisdom, there ARE stupid questions. Many of them are written above. Reading them will cause insanity and blindness. I had to stop – the level of education or comprehension requirements is low for something like this, and still the crayon munchers demonstrate immunity to reason.

    But to title this with “I Beat Gravity” was lunacy. It does fulfill the requirements for clickbait. I can’t print the rest.

  8. Most em-drives are actually accelerating the air around them to generate thrust. That’s not going to be very effective in space.

  9. Richard Wittie on

    Testing such devices here on earth, requires such tests to be performed within a vacuum chamber, but to the fact em drives or electrostatic drives moves the air around it to generate thrust. This is great for aircrafts, but for space craft nearing space wheir the air is null, such devices lose significant performance! Making rockets usless. If they achieve significant propulsion in a vacuum on earth as well as the atmosphere, and if the scale of the engine increases its performance to lift its added weight, then count me in as an investor for building spacecraft using this engine. But if it fails to meet these. Then IllI need to speak and study the concept to identify exactly what it’s doing to create any thrust

    • 100%Todd.
      There have been countless actual free energy devices that have been seized as a threat to national security and if the invented doesn’t stay quiet they seem to stop breathing all of a sudden🤔

  10. Sustainability times should not use AI generated images in news articles. As soon as I see an AI generated image I now have to doubt that this article and by extension any article on this site was ever written by a person. No offense to the great journalists on their staff but especially with an article like this where the title is not just stretching the truth but is a flat out lie it throws doubt on the entire organization. The headline is not just misleading to draw interaction but a flat out lie with no “live demo” mentioned in the entire article there is not even a prototype or schematics.

  11. Well,if it’s true the cia will quickly have it shelved as a threat to national security like the countless other inventions that are 100%real and produce nearly limitless clean energy.
    How much further humanity would be if we were allowed access to real science rather than the company funded bias science our schools and universities are allowed to teach😔

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