{"id":227225,"date":"2025-10-26T23:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T23:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/227225\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T23:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T23:22:07","slug":"startup-says-its-launching-a-test-weapon-into-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/227225\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Says It’s Launching a Test Weapon Into Orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, the Department of Defense announced it was requesting proposals<\/a> from the private industry for prototypes of space-based interceptors (SBIs), which are orbital weapon systems designed to intercept missiles.<\/p>\n

The request, largely seen<\/a> as being part of the Trump administration\u2019s proposed Golden Dome missile shield, has already drawn the attention of numerous contractors that want to develop such interceptors.<\/p>\n

One of these companies, Los Angeles-based startup Apex, has been working on the mass production of satellite buses that can be integrated with customer payloads, as Ars Technica reports<\/a>. The company launched its first satellite last year and secured a $46 million Space Force contract in February to deliver an unspecified number of satellites over the next six years.<\/p>\n

This week, the company announced \u201cProject Shadow,\u201d which it claims is \u201cAmerica\u2019s first commercially-led, on-orbit space-based interceptor demonstration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company is aiming to send a pair of interceptors \u201con one of Apex\u2019s commercial off-the-shelf satellite platforms\u201d as soon as June 2026. After deployment, the goal is to \u201cenvironmentally control the interceptors\u201d and even \u201cissue a fire control command.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApex is built to move fast, and that is exactly what America and our allies need to ensure we win the New Space Race,\u201d said CEO Ian Cinnamon in a statement<\/a>. \u201cIn under a year, we are launching the host platform for space-based interceptors, called an Orbital Magazine, which will deploy multiple prototype missile interceptors in orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cinnamon was upfront about his company\u2019s willingness to play ball with the Trump administration\u2019s unusual approach to working with the private industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cApex isn\u2019t waiting for handouts or contracts; we are developing this Orbital Magazine technology on our own dime and moving incredibly fast,\u201d he added. The goal, he said, is to deploy two interceptors to demonstrate the \u201ccore capabilities of the Orbital Magazine \u2014 an advanced host platform purpose-built to support next-generation space defense missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond communications, the Orbital Magazine will serve as a life-sustaining platform for the interceptors \u2014 providing essential power, heat, and environmental support,\u201d the company wrote in its statement.<\/p>\n

For now, plenty of questions remain surrounding the Trump administration\u2019s Golden Dome. According to the president, the defense shield will cost $175 billion over the next three years<\/a>, drawing skepticism from experts.<\/p>\n

Last month, Bloomberg reported<\/a> that the price for the project could be far higher<\/a>, with American Enterprise Institute analysts pegging the system somewhere between $252 billion and $3.6 trillion<\/a> over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the dome\u2019s price tag, Cinnamon remains adamant that the tech behind SBIs is feasible.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the pieces that are required to make it viable exist,\u201d he told Ars. \u201cWe have satellites, we have boosters, we have seekers, we have fire control, we have IFTUs (in-flight target updates), we have inter-satellite links.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Cinnamon conceded that combining these various parts is \u201creally, really difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal is to eventually carry payloads of up to 11,000 pounds, \u201callowing thousands of SBIs to be staged in orbit,\u201d according to the company.<\/p>\n

Apex isn\u2019t the only contractor vying for an interceptor contract with the Pentagon. According to Ars, Lockheed Martin is also working on the tech, planning a \u201cdemonstration by 2028,\u201d CEO James Taiclet announced<\/a> during a earnings call this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are building prototypes \u2014 full operational prototypes, not things in labs, not stuff on test stands, things that will go into space, or in the air, or fly across a missile range,\u201d he added. \u201cThese are real devices that will work and that can be produced at scale. So the space-based interceptor is one we\u2019ve been pursuing already, and that\u2019s all I can say about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second major military contractor, Northrop Grumman, has also indicated it\u2019s carrying out similar tests \u2014 meaning Apex will be competing with the big dogs.<\/p>\n

More on Golden Dome: Trump\u2019s $175 Billion Golden Dome is Turning Into a Disaster<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last month, the Department of Defense announced it was requesting proposals from the private industry for prototypes of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-227225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}