Novelist Funds New Rocket Ship

Washington DC – July 23, 1997 – A decade ago, fiction writer Tom Clancy was “looking” for Russian submarines in his popular “Hunt For Red October” technothriller and big screen movie. Now he’s decided to look for something equally elusive: a hunt for a cheap ride into orbit. A new private rocketmaker, Rotary Rocket of Redwood Shores, California, announced yesterday that Clancy has put up “a substantial investment” of the company’s first round financing just finished. While the exact amount of the writer’s cash wasn’t disclosed, it is believed to be much of the $6 million raised thus far.

Rotary Rocket, a creation of space visionary Gary Hudson, proposes to
begin 1999 flight tests of a single stage to orbit (SSTO) wingless
rocketship that uses a helicopter-style rotor to land from space. The
proposed space machine would be capable of lifting 7,000 pounds to a low
Earth orbit. Hudson announced that Clancy has not only favored Rotary with
his wallet -the novelist has now joined the firm as a member of its Board
of Directors. Clancy is not known as an easy sell, and has made headlines
for mainly investing his millions made from books and movies in more
lucrative projects such as baseball teams and big businesses. Thus the
Clancy name -plus his bucks- give Hudson’s firm a major leg up over other
competitors trying to establish private space vehicle launch services. The
Roton, Rotary’s reusable vehicle with the propeller blades in its nose,
will be launched and landed near Edwards Air Force Base in California, if
the second round of financing about to begin is successful. Hudson says he
will offer customers his launch service for about $1,000/per pound to
deliver small satellites and research platforms to orbit- an order of
magnitude cheaper than what the U.S. government charges today for space
shuttle service, or what established rocket makers like McDonnell Douglas
and Lockheed offers. But while the affiliation with Clancy will serve to
give Hudson’s company instant credibility on Wall Street, the company still
faces the tough task of completing a business plan and finding both new
investors as well as customers.

But one thing Rotary won’t need is a builder for its Roton rocket. Hudson
also announced yesterday that Scaled Composites will be the builder and
integrating contractor for the ship. Scaled Composites is the company
headed by Burt Rutan -who flew around the world without refueling in 1986,
another task which the world once said was unlikely, if not impossible.