Apex - Spacecraft Manufacturing

Apex - Spacecraft Manufacturing (Apex Space or Apex) is a spacecraft manufacturer that specializes in manufacturing satellite buses from a combination of software, vertical integration, and hardware. Apex delivers payloads on its satellite buses for commercial and government customers.

The company’s product portfolio comprises the Aries and geostationary orbit (GEO) Aries satellite buses, with the Nova and Comet buses in development as of September 2024.

The Aries bus is a 100 kg satellite bus that can carry up to 150 kg payload of fuel. It comes in three classes of power: base, medium, and high and is equipped with either chemical or electric propulsion. The Aries launched in March 2024 as part of a rideshare mission aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The GEO Aries is a 175 kg satellite bus that can carry up to 120 kg for payload and fuel and will be available in two classes of power: base and high power. Apex unveiled the GEO Aries in August 2024 and announced it would begin delivery in 2026.

In September 2024, the company also unveiled the Nova satellite bus aimed at government customers. The product will be available in two versions, 1) the 250 kg base version with a 300 kg payload capacity and 2) the 400 kg heavy version with a 500 kg payload capacity. Apex announced it would begin delivery in 2025.

Apex buses are delivered as standard base models or can be customized providing flexibility to customers with a selection of configuration packages for different performance needs. These additional services for the Aries and GEO Aries include payload integration and testing and launch vehicle integration, with plans to offer mission operations and Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) and Commissioning services as well.

Key customers and partnerships

Apex partnered with Astra Space in April 2023 to receive five Spacecraft Propulsion Kits for its satellite bus platform.

The company delivered a customer payload for Booz Allen Hamilton in April 2024 as part of the Aries’ Call to Adventure Mission. The payload delivered was a technology for on-orbit space domain awareness (SDA) sensors and deep-space sensors. In September 2024, Apex was selected by Anduril Industries, a defense technology firm, to supply its Aries satellite bus for Anduril’s military space missions in 2025 to host AI-powered payloads for Edge data processing in orbit.