Universal Newsreel - ionocraft invention display, USA; 1964

Newsreel reporting on the development of an 'ionocraft', an ion-propelled aircraft built by Major Alexander Prokofieff de Seversky. The device on display is a model of the 'flying platform which he says could be put into operation 60 miles above the Earth. It draws its propulsion energy from the Sun or light sent from the Earth. The top of the platform is energised and power is drawn from the bottom. The smoke shows how the platform with no moving parts creates its own lift. The Major says that one platform above New York, another above Los Angeles, would permit direct television communication. It could intercept intercontinental missiles' drawing a 'curtain of safety' around the US. The model resembles a modern-day drone and the report contains views of de Seversky operating the device, which works using electrohydrodynamics (EHD), using a lever. USA; precise date unknown. (Universal Newsreel_Episode 1964 – ABMA707K)