Apex, a prominent satellite manufacturer, has unveiled its largest spacecraft to date – the Comet bus. Designed to cater to both commercial and government constellation customers, Comet represents a significant advancement in satellite technology.
Announced on May 28, Comet is now available for orders. A substantial upgrade from Apex’s existing Aries and Nova products, Comet boasts a unique flat form factor, easily fitting within a five-meter launch vehicle payload fairing. This impressive design allows for a power generation exceeding five kilowatts and a payload capacity of over 500 kilograms. The development of Comet, initially part of Apex’s long-term roadmap, was expedited due to significant interest from potential clients.
“We’ve been getting a lot of inbound interest,” stated Ian Cinnamon, Apex’s chief executive, in a recent interview. Much of this interest stems from companies aiming to leverage Comet for commercial constellations similar to SpaceX’s Starlink, particularly for applications like direct-to-device services and Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives. “Anytime you need a very large antenna in orbit looking down at the ground, it can be very useful,” Cinnamon added.
Another key driver of demand is the defense sector. Comet has generated considerable interest for potential roles in projects like the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system. “They’re thinking about how that fits into the overall architecture for things like the sensor layers and space-based interceptor,” Cinnamon explained.
While Comet caters to larger-scale projects, Apex continues to see strong demand for its smaller Aries and Nova buses. Cinnamon highlighted that a communications constellation benefits greatly from Comet's capabilities, contrasting it with a remote sensing system that might be better suited to the smaller Aries platform. All three satellite buses are manufactured at Apex’s Los Angeles facility, although Comet orders have a 24-month lead time.
Given the nature of constellation development, Cinnamon noted that orders typically range from 10 to 20 units per customer, sufficient to fill an entire launch vehicle. Apex hasn’t revealed precise pricing but expects it to fall within the “mid-single-digit millions” per spacecraft.
Comet’s design incorporates lessons from previous models, Aries and Nova, notably a more vertically integrated supply chain. This approach has contributed significantly to Comet’s cost-effectiveness. "Being able to take those and then basically put them over into the larger form factor of Comet," Cinnamon said, referring to in-house components, "has let us create a vehicle that not only has the very unique shape that lets you put as many as possible in a Falcon 9 or any five-meter fairing, but it also lets us drive down on the price point to something where business cases actually start to make sense."
Comet fulfills Apex’s initial roadmap vision for small, medium, and large satellite buses. “I think that covers a big swath of the market,” Cinnamon commented. However, Apex currently lacks plans to develop even larger spacecraft, such as those designed for SpaceX’s Starship. “I love the idea of it, but the reality is that there’s no one who’re really going to buy that right now,” he stated. “We focus on where the market is today and where there’s money to be made today.”