New Large Satellite Bus Introduced by Apex
New Large Satellite Bus Introduced by Apex
Built with U.S. Government Customers in Mind
A new, large satellite bus designed to accommodate payloads ranging from 440 - 1,102 pounds has been introduced by satellite manufacturer Apex.
"Nova is ideal for customers looking to launch constellations requiring more power, higher mass, and other performance factors without sacrificing speed and production reliability."
Ian Cinnamon, Apex
The ESPA-Grande class satellite bus platform is dubbed Nova. Deliveries of the new satellite bus are expected to begin in Q3 2025, and are focused on meeting the needs of operational proliferated LEO missions, including the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) architecture and classified programs. Similar to Apex's Aries bus, Nova is designed with multiple configuration packages. 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 2.5kw OAP to 500kg (1,102 pounds) of payload.
"After seeing the success of our Aries platform, customers are increasingly looking at Apex to support their critical missions. We designed Nova to meet this need and support a wide range of payloads. Nova is ideal for customers looking to launch constellations requiring more power, higher mass, and other performance factors without sacrificing speed and production reliability," Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said.
As the U.S. Department of Defense's and other government customers' demand to launch new satellites ever increases, Nova and the other buses in Apex's product line are well positioned to help the US and allied nations compete in the congested space domain. Apex's differentiated productized approach to satellite bus manufacturing will reduce barriers for the development and exploration of space.
Nova is Apex's third satellite bus product available to customers. It follows Aries, which successfully launched on March 4, 2024, and GEO Aries, the first productized satellite bus for geostationary orbit. As a mission driven organization that enables governments and companies around the world to further develop and explore space, Nova will help deliver on Apex's core principles of standardization, production at scale, and rapid delivery for customers.