Will there be fallout from Bigelow’s views on ‘ET presence’ on Earth?

By Mick Akers

Tuesday, June 6, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Eyebrow-raising statements by billionaire aerospace mogul Robert Bigelow on “60 Minutes” on May 28 could “make investors uneasy,” an aerospace analyst said.

Bigelow told CBS News reporter Lara Logan that he is confident that aliens not only exist, but have walked among humans on Earth.

“There has been and is an existing presence, an ET presence,” Bigelow said. “I spent millions and millions ― I probably spent more as an individual than anybody else in the United States has ever spent on this subject.”

When asked if it was risky for him to express such views publicly, Bigelow responded, “I don’t give a damn. I don’t care. I don’t care. It’s not gonna make a difference. It’s not gonna change reality, of what I know.”

Bigelow owns North Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, which has a partnership with NASA to create an expandable space habitat scheduled to be sent to the International Space Station. Bigelow Aerospace received an $18 million contract from NASA for the project.

With Bigelow expressing views that some might find far-fetched, a pair of industry experts had different views on how it might affect future government contracts.

“When you express extreme views for which there is no real scientific evidence, it tends to make investors uneasy,” said Loren B. Thompson, aerospace analyst at the Lexington Institute.

Thompson doesn’t completely disagree with Bigelow’s views, but he draws the line at the possibility of extraterrestrial life on Earth.

“There is very high probability that intelligent aliens exist outside of our solar system, but there is virtually no possibility that there are any inside of our solar system,” he said. “There’s a 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy and there’s a 100 billion galaxies, so it would truly be astounding if there were not aliens on other planets elsewhere in the universe.”

Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at Teal Group, said he believes the claim is baseless because of the lack of scientific evidence, but that it’s not that big of a deal.

“I don’t think there’s a mechanism for the government to not give them work,” Aboulafia said. “If they bid for contracts, or if there’s technology-development opportunities, I can’t imagine this having an impact.”

Bigelow’s views could be considered controversial, but not objectionable, Aboulafia said.

“This is a relatively inoffensive view, which may not be backed up with any factual basis whatsoever, but it’s not like it’s offensive,” he said.

A spokesman said the company has no comment on Bigelow’s appearance on “60 Minutes.”