John Carmack
CEO and Founder, Armadillo Aerospace
- Showed a promotional video highlighting company’s progress
- Played a second video in which the vehicle lost control at 4,000 feet and fell head-over-tail to the ground
Business Update:
- Company is growing. Taken on two more full-time team members
- Operating profit again this year – marginally profitable small aerospace company right now
- Couple of customers paying them decent money – “We’re very distracted by these customers.†(laughter)
- Armadillo Aerospace was operating at the margins of what they could sustain
- Sold his software company last year – provided Armadillo with some more financial stability…
- What we’re flying now is pretty close to what we need for reusable suborbital vehicles. A number of upgrades needed that they are working on.
- Hoped to have a new business deal to announce for the conference…announcement due within the next month…
- Will be conducting tests at Texas launch site, the Oklahoma Spaceport, and Spaceport America in New Mexico
Centennial Challenges, NASA and the Rest of It
- Centennial Challenges – best money NASA has spent on new technology
- Upset over decision to allow Masten Space Systems a third launch window in Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. Masten edged out Armadillo to win first prize…Carmack described it as bunch of people walked into a smoke-filled room and came out to announce they had taken a half million dollars away from you…
- Very excited about NASA’s commitment to purchase commercial suborbital research…$15 million for the next year, $75 million over five years….
- May end up doing some payload work for NASA before the end of the year….
- Being able to make dozens of flights will give them the experience needed before they put people on it….eventual goal is to send people into orbit….
- Considers NASA to be a slow-motion train wreck….great relationship with people within NASA, FAA, etc. but it is horribly inefficient and not cost effective…
- Every year, they have a regulatory crisis involving something they want to do….
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