Golden Spike is a company that wants to explore the moon. (Provided by Golden Spike)
The small but ambitious Golden Spike Co. may not have a space vehicle, manufacturing plant or large payroll yet, but both Texas and Florida are courting the Boulder-based startup with the aim of stealing its headquarters away from Colorado.
The company stands as a stark example of how aerospace-reliant states are beginning to focus on startup space companies at a time when budget constraints have made large government contracts less reliable. It also highlights what some say is a weakness on Colorado's part when it comes to "new space" business.
Golden Spike, which hopes to send privately funded human expeditions to the moon by 2020, has created a high level of buzz that seems disproportionate to its size. But both Texas and Florida ? two of Colorado's primary aerospace competitors ? see long-term potential and are actively pursuing the company.
"I would say (Texas and Florida) are night and day aggressive, in a positive sense, in the way they are courting us," said Alan Stern, president and CEO of Golden Spike. "Whereas, I don't know anyone in Colorado who has contacted anyone on our board. It is as if we don't exist in Colorado."
According to Stern, Florida began supporting Golden Spike in several ways late last year, including monetary investment, and Texas has invited the company into relocation talks.
"Golden Spike is not going to be generating a lot of jobs this year or next year, but it is more of the long-term investment," said Dale Ketcham, chief of strategic alliances at Space Florida. "They may or may not succeed, but there is a certain level of risk capital involved in the process and much of that is based upon the concepts and Alan Stern, who has a high level of credibility."
While California is considered the largest aerospace economy in both traditional and new space, the state's high living costs and difficult business environment has caused it to hemorrhage aerospace companies.
The other states generally considered aerospace leaders ? Texas, Florida and Colorado ? each offer different strengths.
Texas ranks as the most tax-friendly environment for small businesses, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council's 2013 Business Tax Index. Florida has its own state entity called Space Florida that is solely dedicated to recruiting for and diversifying the state's aerospace industry. Colorado boasts the nation's highest per-capita aerospace employment figures and the most educated population among its competitors.
Stern has planted serious roots in Colorado but he is no stranger to the interested states, having built connections through his former position as NASA's chief scientist and the principal investigator on NASA's $720 million New Horizons' Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission, which is currently on its way to the distant planet.
"Colorado is my home. I raised my family here and have been here 30 years. I absolutely love it. But now running a start-up, you see Colorado through a different lens. We were never approached by anyone here, no one picked up the phone or asked us even to lunch. Compare that to (Texas and Florida) offering to fly us down there and asking us to relocate," Stern said.
For their part, Colorado leaders say they have not separated aerospace from their overarching goal of bolstering all advanced industries in the state.
"We are just trying to build out the entire advanced industries ecosystem. We don't want to focus on just one advanced industry," said Michelle Hadwiger, director of aerospace business development at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Colorado has tried to reach startups in various ways. The state has passed the Advanced Industries Accelerator Act, and Gov. John Hickenlooper has rolled out his "Colorado Blueprint" ? a bottom-up approach to economic development.
While that may not directly address Golden Spike's situation as aggressively as other states, it is a start as Colorado attempts to avoid future gaps.
A recent Brookings Institution study found a vulnerability in Colorado related to adjacent markets and "new space," an industry catchphrase for the emerging private spaceflight industry ? a category that Golden Spike fits into perfectly.
"A classic, new space company is missing and could be helpful to the Colorado mix," said Mark Muro, author of the Brookings study.
The risk for Colorado is knowing which companies will succeed and are therefore worth the investment.
"These technologies are very unknown, but is this going to be a business reality in 20 years? Probably so," said Vicky Lea, aviation and aerospace industry manager for Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. "We can't continue to rely on the fact that we have a great climate and beautiful mountains. We as a state also need to focus on creating an entrepreneurial business state."
Another effort the state is making is hiring an aerospace-specific champion who is going to just focus on aerospace and military, serving a role similar to what Space Florida does now, according to the OEDIT.
The state's efforts may be too little too late for Golden Spike, which recently had several technical breakthroughs with research partner companies like Northrup Grumman and United Launch Alliance, moving it quickly along its business development plan.
Each two-person expedition to the moon carries a price tag of $1.5 billion. Stern estimates, based off of market interest, there will be 20 to 30 launches.
If Golden Spike launched 25 expeditions, the company holds $40 billion in potential market value, Stern estimates. "That's a pretty substantial business by anyone's standards," he said.
For Stern and Golden Spike, the courting process isn't about government funding but about relationships and support during these early stages that will make the biggest difference.
"We are not out there with a tin cup looking for help from the state, or from any government sources. Ours really is a very strong business model that doesn't rely on a billionaire or becoming a U.S. government contractor," Stern said. "There are certainly no bad feelings. It is just odd that we haven't been contacted at all from within Colorado."
Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638, kpainter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kristenpainter
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