California startup to demonstrate space weapon on its own dime
“All the pieces needed to make it viable exist. They’re out there,” Cinnamon told Ars. “We have satellites, thrusters, seekers, fire controls, IFTUs (in-flight target updates), inter-satellite links. The key is that all of these things have to communicate with each other and come together, and that integration is really, really difficult. The second key is that for this to be viable, you need enough of them in space to actually have the impact that you need.”
This image from an Apex animation shows a space interceptor deployed from an orbital loader.
Apex says its Project Shadow demo is expected to launch in June 2026. Once in orbit, the Project Shadow spacecraft will deploy two interceptors, each firing a high-thrust solid rocket engine from a third-party vendor. “The Orbital Magazine will demonstrate the ability to monitor the interceptor environment, issue a fire control command, and close a crosslink in space to send real-time updates after deployment,” Apex said in a statement.
The orbital loader on Apex’s drawing board could eventually carry more than 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms) of interceptor payload, the company said. “Orbital loaders host one or more interceptors, allowing thousands of SBIs to be put into orbit.”
Apex is spending around $15 million of its own money on Project Shadow. Cinnamon said Apex was working with other companies on “key elements of the interceptor and mission analysis” for Project Shadow, but he was not yet ready to identify them. One possible supplier of propulsion systems is Anduril Industries, the weapons company started by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey in 2017. Apex and Anduril have worked together before.
“What we’re very good at is high-speed manufacturing and assembly,” Cinnamon said. “We have suppliers for everything else.”
Apex is the first company to publicly disclose details of an SBI demonstration, but it won’t be the last. Cinnamon said Apex will provide further updates on Project Shadow closer to launch.
“We’re talking about it publicly because I think it’s really important to inspire both the United States and our allies, to show the pace of innovation and what’s possible in today’s world,” Cinnamon said. “We are very fortunate to have an extraordinary team, a very significant war chest and the ability to deliver a project like this, truly for the good of the United States and our allies.”
