FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 5, 2005
For more information contact:

John Wickman, Wickman Space and Propulsion
Office: 307.265.5895
Web site: www.space-rockets.com

Gene Watson, WSSI Project Manager
Cell: 307.760.0456

Casper firm is awarded nearly $100,000 grant from U.S. Air Force

CHEYENNE – The United States Air Force has awarded Wickman Spacecraft and Propulsion Company of Casper a $99,670 Department of Defense, Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant.

Wickman Spacecraft and Propulsion, owned and operated by John Wickman, is proposing to develop a Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) that will be air launched from Air Force cargo planes to deploy missiles at high-value and time-critical targets.

Wickman says the idea of the SLV is to supplement the aging bombers that deploy smart weapons over an enemy target and replace it with cargo planes which have special tubes and doors already installed. A weapon deployed by the SLV could reach anywhere in the world in 20-30 minutes.

“The Air Force is very interested in this program and has given it ‘priority’ status from the Secretary of Defense, which means I can seize parts off the assembly line if I need to,” Wickman said. “If these tests work out then the production would be done in Wyoming and that means big business and big employment things for the state.”

A former employee at Aerojet Strategic Propulsion Company in Sacramento, Wickman started his own company in 1981 to develop new, low-cost spacecraft and rockets to open space for exploration and settlement. He moved to Wyoming in 1993.

The Phase I award is given to determine the feasibility of a project by a pool of 11 federal agencies that provide grant or contract funds to be used by small businesses for new products and research development. Phase II awards are given when an applicant demonstrates all enabling technology involved in a project.

The SBIR Phase 0 Program helps Wyoming companies develop competitive proposals for the federal SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Under these programs, Wyoming businesses have the potential to receive up to $850,000 in federal funding to develop their ideas into products through a two-stage process. The SBIR Phase 0 program is a project of the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI).

The WSSI initiative is funded by the Wyoming Business Council and gives out $120,000 in Phase 0 grants each year. The University of Wyoming Vice-President administers the program for Research.

Wickman is no stranger to the Phase 0 award, this being his seventh. He has earned one other Phase I award in the past, a $70,000 award from the Department of Defense. Since Wickman was founded in the 1980s, it has received over $1.5 million in SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards.

Phase I award winners automatically become “mentors” to other Phase 0 applicants through WSSI.

"He (Wickman) is one of our best,” WSSI Project Manager Gene Watson said when talking about Wickman’s mentoring. “He has been very good for our program.”

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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