Apex Selected for SDA HALO Program
LOS ANGELES, Oct 23, 2024 -- Apex, the leading provider of productized satellite bus platforms, has been selected to participate in the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO (HALO) program, SDA Director Derek Tournear announced today. HALO creates a pathway for SDA to solicit and award rapid feasibility demonstrations. As a HALO participant, Apex will be eligible to compete for future SDA prototype orders.
“Being selected for a HALO award is an important opportunity to demonstrate Apex’s ability to use productized satellite buses to rapidly support national security missions in space,” Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said. “America’s security depends on our ability to quickly deploy constellations of hundreds of satellites. Those constellations are impossible to achieve without the scale, quality, and reliability Apex provides with our off-the-shelf buses.”
Apex, with its transparently priced and reliable satellite buses, provides the necessary components for any spacecraft, allowing systems to maneuver, communicate, provide power, and more. Apex’s productized satellite buses are unique in their rapid manufacturability, allowing the company to deliver high-quality spacecraft at the quantity and pace necessary to meet critical mission needs.
“SDA is proud to welcome 19 vendors into the first-ever HALO pool,” said SDA Director Derek Tournear. “This creative award solution enables SDA to quickly compete, build, and fly demonstration missions to burn down risk for the future of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. We also hope, through the HALO pool, to build a broader base of vendors that can compete for work on operational layers of future tranches.”
The news follows the announcement of Apex’s Nova bus, an ESPA-Grande class satellite bus platform supporting payloads ranging from 200 to 500 kg. Nova is designed to meet the needs of operational proliferated LEO missions, including SDA architecture and classified programs.
Nova is offered in base and heavy configuration packages, with the base package fitting in a SpaceX Falcon 9 XL Rideshare envelope. When configured with the full suite of features, Nova can deliver over 2kw OAP to 500kg of payload.
Nova and the other buses in Apex's product line are well positioned to help the United States and allied nations compete in the congested space domain. Apex's differentiated productized approach to satellite bus manufacturing will also reduce barriers for the development and exploration of space.