Entrepreneur Embraces Government Work-For Now

摘要

When Gary Hudson stepped down as Rotary Rocket's chief executive in 2000 with the would-be launch services provider on the brink of financial ruin, the longtime space entrepreneur wrote down three rules to guide his future business ventures. Rule No. 1 was to never again bet his survival on a single project or customer. Rule No. 2 was to always subcontract out as much work as possible. Rule No. 3 was to avoid basing initial business plans solely on private markets. "That final rule," Hudson said, "is a recognition that the government is the primary customer these days, but won't always be." In the past month, Hudson-led businesses have snagged Pentagon and NASA contracts totaling more than $14 million. Not bad for a space commercialization advocate who just last year told HobbySpace.com, an online publication that caters to the entrepreneurial crowd, that "someone needs to spank NASA and send them to bed without their supper" for what he called the agency's abysmal track record developing new launchers.