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- BUSINESS, Page 80Business NotesENTREPRENEURSTexas' Cosmic Dealmaker
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- Is Houston lawyer Arthur Dula a dreamy eccentric, or a
- cosmic entrepreneur? For nearly three years he has toiled with
- little success to find U.S. customers for the Soviet Union's
- space program. Undaunted, Dula scored a coup in June when the
- Soviet space agency named him its exclusive American business
- partner. The attorney now hawks everything from advertising
- space on Soviet rockets to tours of launching pads.
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- Dula's nemesis has been the U.S. Government, which refuses
- to let American firms launch satellites on Soviet rockets.
- Washington insists that such a practice would violate laws
- against the transfer of advanced technology. But Dula is
- pressing the Administration for a license to place a U.S.
- communications satellite aboard a Soviet Proton rocket. His
- perseverance is understandable. The Soviets would probably
- charge more than $50 million for a launch; Dula's company, Space
- Commerce, would pocket half the profit.
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