“All the items which are required to make it viable exist. They're on the market,” Cinnamon advised Ars. “We've satellites, we now have boosters, we now have seekers, we now have hearth management, we now have IFTUs (in-flight goal updates), we now have inter-satellite hyperlinks. The secret's, all these items want to speak to one another and really come collectively, and that integration is basically, actually troublesome. The second secret is, to ensure that it to be viable, you want sufficient of them in area to truly have the affect that you simply want.”
This body from an Apex animation reveals a space-based interceptor deploying from an Orbital Journal.
Apex says its Undertaking Shadow demo is scheduled to launch in June 2026. As soon as in orbit, the Undertaking Shadow spacecraft will deploy two interceptors, every firing a high-thrust stable rocket motor from a third-party provider. “The Orbital Journal will show its capability to environmentally management the interceptors, problem a fireplace management command, and shut an in-space cross-link to ship real-time updates post-deployment,” Apex stated in an announcement.
The Orbital Journal on Apex's drafting board may ultimately carry greater than 11,000 kilos (5,000 kilograms) of interceptor payload, the corporate stated. “Orbital Magazines host one or many interceptors, permitting hundreds of SBIs to be staged in orbit.”
Apex is spending about $15 million of its personal cash on Undertaking Shadow. Cinnamon stated Apex is working with different corporations on “key elements of the interceptor and mission evaluation” for Undertaking Shadow, however he wasn't able to establish them but. One attainable propulsion provider is Anduril Industries, the weapons firm began by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey in 2017. Apex and Anduril have worked together before.
“What we're excellent at is high-rate manufacturing and piecing it collectively,” Cinnamon stated. “We've suppliers for every part else.”
Apex is the primary firm to publicly disclose any particulars for an SBI demonstration, however it received't be the final. Cinnamon stated Apex will present additional updates on Undertaking Shadow because it nears launch.
“We're speaking about it publicly as a result of I consider it's actually essential to encourage each the US and our allies, and present the tempo of innovation and present what's attainable in at present's world,” Cinnamon stated. “We're very lucky to have a tremendous crew, a really massive struggle chest of capital, and the flexibility to go do a mission like this, really for the great of the US and the great of our allies.”
