Oakman Aerospace did not put anyone on leave. In fact, the Colorado-based company is forming two recent hires thanks in part to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a US Small Business Administration initiative designed to limit the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We compared it to winning Powerball,” said Maureen O’Brien, CEO of Oakman Aerospace.

That’s because Oakman Aerospace, one of thousands of small businesses sharing over half a trillion dollars in SBA relief loans, won’t have to repay the money if they qualify. cancellation of the loan, namely to maintain a stable payroll. for the next two months.

Much of the news regarding PPP has focused on awards given to Los Angeles Lakers, Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, companies that have pledged to return the money. Small companies in the space industry, including ExoTerra Resources, Oakman Aerospace, Space Micro and Stellar Exploration, have also received PPP loans, as have News.

The PPP is a $ 669 billion federal loan program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) in late March and expanded by a relief bill passed by Congress end of April.

“We encourage all eligible lenders to participate and all eligible borrowers who need this assistance to work with an approved lender to apply,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on May 3 in a joint statement with Jovita Carranza, who heads the Small Business Administration.

Space companies did not need any encouragement. Many began working with their banks to apply as soon as the PPP was unveiled in March, but were frustrated when the initial $ 320 million tranche was pledged in less than two weeks.

“Almost everyone has complained about this process for good reason,” said Michael Torosian, who heads the emerging and venture capital practice at international law firm Baker Botts. “It’s a new program that was launched very quickly.

Industry groups representing space and tech companies complain that many venture-funded startups are not eligible for PPP funding due to the Small Business Administration’s “Affiliate Rule”. Eligibility for PPP is limited to companies with fewer than 500 employees. Under the Affiliate Rule, “small companies funded by venture capitalists or investors might not be part of the PPP loan program if they are controlled by an investor who controls other companies,” Torosian said. . In some cases, “you have to aggregate all these employees” and always fall under the ceiling of 500 employees, he added. The cap, however, did not apply to franchise businesses, such as some national restaurant chains that were subsequently ashamed to return the money.

Despite these problems, the terms of PPPs were so attractive that companies rushed to apply. PPP allows small businesses to borrow an amount roughly equal to two and a half months of payroll to spend over eight weeks to cover wages, rent, interest, and utilities. The loan is repayable, which means that it does not have to be repaid, provided the company does not lay off its employees or reduce wages.

The banks were overwhelmed with demand. Umpqua Bank, with 350 branches in Oregon, California, Washington, Idaho and Nevada, received approximately 6,500 PPP requests in the first 24 hours.

“The number of applications initially was so large that we suspended the submissions and carefully managed the entries so that we could process the applications already in our system,” said Kurt Heath, spokesperson for the Portland-based bank, in Oregon. “We knew early on that it was a race against time to get as many candidates approved as possible. “

Since banks started accepting requests on April 27 for the second installment of PPP money, “we’re working around the clock,” Heath said via email.

The PPP funding allowed ExoTerra and Stella Exploration to bring back employees on leave when the pandemic interrupted work. ExoTerra of Littleton, Colorado has 29 employees. Stellar Exploration of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Has 11 employees. PPP funding means “we can continue to work on projects for our clients, even with unavoidable inefficiencies and loss of productivity due to current conditions, and thus protect the jobs of our current staff,” said Stellar President Exploration, Tomas Svitek, by email.

The supplier of satellite components Space Micro was surprised by the speed of its PPP loan. The San Diego-based company, which has 85 employees, found the money in its bank account three days after learning its loan had been approved.

“It shows that the government can act quickly when it wants to,” said David Strobel, CEO of Space Micro.

For Oakman Aerospace, a company with 27 employees and two interns, P3 money provides a bit of a break.

“These are heaven’s pennies when it comes to our business,” said O’Brien.

YOU AFTER PPP? If your small business has applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, please complete our survey: https: // www. surveymonkey.com/r/sn-ppp-survey

This article originally appeared in the May 11, 2020 issue of SpaceNews magazine.