Apex, the Los Angeles-based spacecraft manufacturing company, announced its new headquarters, known as Factory One. Located in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, Factory One will serve as Apex’s headquarters and production facility, with a capacity to produce dozens of spacecraft per year.
Apex specializes in building productized satellite buses, starting with their flagship Aries platform. Aries, an ESPA-class 100kg bus, is capable of supporting payloads up to 100kg. These buses are manufactured at scale and can be configured with various performance packages, enabling Apex customers to leverage the benefits of serial production for diverse mission needs.
Apex’s inaugural Aries spacecraft is scheduled for a Q1 2024 launch, carrying multiple customer payloads. The company is producing five more Aries units for customers in 2024 and plans to ramp up to 20 spacecraft by 2025. Factory One will also facilitate the scaled production of Nova, Apex’s ESPA-grande satellite bus platform. Weighing over 600kg, Nova is designed to support larger payloads for both government and commercial clients.
Spanning 46,000 square feet, Factory One will be comprised of office, warehouse, and light manufacturing space. The headquarters is conveniently located within walking distance of Runway Playa Vista, offering access to grocery stores, coffee shops, movie theatres, and gym facilities.
“Scaling our satellite production capabilities is essential for meeting customer demand. Our customers are seeking spacecraft with shorter lead times, and Factory One will deliver: in just a few years, the facility will produce 50 satellite platforms annually, across our Aries and Nova-class models. From there, we can continue to increase capacity at this facility,” said Ian Cinnamon, Chief Executive Officer at Apex.
Max Benassi, Apex’s Chief Technology Officer, added, “With a planned 2024 move-in, our team is poised to quickly scale up to meet customer needs. Our state-of-the-art facilities will encompass fabrication, assembly and integration, in-house environmental testing, and storage for completed spacecraft, enabling rapid delivery for time-sensitive clients.”
The executive team, Ian Cinnamon and Max Benassi, lean on their extensive experience across aerospace, dual use, and deep technology companies to bring their vision of Apex to life. Ian, Apex’s CEO, previously led his venture-backed company Synapse through its growth and acquisition by Palantir. CTO Max previously scaled aerospace manufacturing at SpaceX before operating as Director of Engineering at Astra.
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