LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apex, the Los Angeles-based spacecraft manufacturing company, announced its customer payload for Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) has been successfully enabled as part of the Aries Serial Number (SN) 1 Call to Adventure Mission. Booz Allen’s onboard software payload allows Booz Allen to run diagnostics on the software as it attempts to perform computer-vision tasks at the edge. This is a key technology that will reduce the bandwidth required for on-orbit space domain awareness (SDA) sensors and enable the proliferation of next-generation deep-space sensors in the near future.
“We are excited to have Booz Allen as one of our customers on this first Aries mission. We look forward to continuing the collaboration as both companies push forward the space industry,” said Ian Cinnamon, Chief Executive Officer at Apex.
Apex’s Call to Adventure mission is unique and allows multiple customers to leverage transport on a single spacecraft. Booz Allen, one of the prime customers on the spacecraft, successfully enabled their payload. The collaboration between Apex and Booz Allen is a strong signal to industry by bringing together the best of rapid bus manufacturing with a leading space data solutions provider and integrator for both public and private sectors.
“Booz Allen is thrilled to collaborate with Apex, and excited to be a part of the successful launch of their first Aries bus,” said Michael Johnston, senior vice president and a senior leader in Booz Allen’s Space business. “This joint effort provides Booz Allen with the opportunity to demonstrate space domain awareness AI processing for autonomous applications. Our software payload will test initial capabilities for using a computer-vision solution on edge compute hardware to detect and further characterize resident space objects.”
Apex’s first satellite set a historical record as the fastest design and build of any small production satellite. Typical manufacturers spend years designing and months building, while Apex completed the clean-sheet design, engineering work, full assembly, integration, test, and launch in just 12 months of our 200kg Aries. Apex is currently producing additional Aries busses in 2024, with current lead times of a few months.
As the space domain becomes increasingly contested, degraded, and operationally-limited, ongoing public-private partnership demonstrations are imperative to allow for the rapid deployment of next-generation edge compute SDA capabilities. As the U.S. and strategic competitors move beyond the GEO belt and the Earth’s immediate vicinity, SDA sensors capable of performing autonomously at the edge will become vital.
This joint effort supports Booz Allen’s ongoing initiatives to integrate emerging technologies within space domain awareness mission applications. This collaboration aims to demonstrate Booz Allen’s software, which is being developed to enable next-generation autonomous edge compute SDA sensors aboard spacecraft for critical mission needs across both public and private sectors including safety-of-flight analyses, conjunction assessments, and other SDA-driven activities in deep space.