Project Shadow

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Apex Launches America's First Commercially-Led, On-Orbit Space-Based Interceptor Demonstration

Launching net june 2026

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Apex's Orbital Magazine: The Foundation of Space-Based Interceptors

Project Shadow is an Apex-led technology maturation mission to validate the core technology behind Orbital Magazines, spacecraft designed to host and support space-based interceptors (SBIs) that protect the U.S and its allies from missile threats.

These host platforms provide SBIs with environmental control, interceptor-host communications, fire control, in-flight target updates, and other mission-critical functions within a layered, resilient, and persistent architecture.



Orbital Magazines are a new concept, being flown for the first time as part of Project Shadow. The Project will host, deploy, and fire two demonstration interceptors to lay the foundation for future SBI capabilities.

Mission Objectives

Primary: Mature core Orbital Magazine technology to pave the way for constellation-scale deployment by 2028.

Deploy & Fire DEMONSTRATION SBI

Host, deploy, and fire two demonstration interceptors with integrated solid rocket motor boosters to demonstrate high-thrust, high–Δv, high-G-force performance and pave the way for full-scale deployment.

DEMONSTRATE C2 & IFTU

Demonstrate space-to-space communications between the Orbital Magazine and interceptors, providing In-Flight Target Updates (IFTU) to the interceptors and receiving key telemetry data from them.

DETECT & TRACK In-SPACE THREATS

Leverage multi-spectral sensors on the Orbital Magazine to enable Missile Warning/Missile Track (MW/MT) and kill assessment, supporting future sensing applications for proliferated missile defense constellations.

Apex Orbital Magazine

Nova-Class

Mission FAQs

An Orbital Magazines is a spacecraft platform that hosts space-based interceptors (SBIs) in orbit. In addition to offering keep-alive capabilities before deployment, the Orbital Magazine will receive fire control signals, deploy one or multiple interceptors, and keep a consistent line of communication with the interceptor for IFTUs and other critical applications. Apex's manufacturing facilities are already equipped to ramp orbital magazine production and deliver hundreds of these platforms each year.

A space-based interceptor (SBI) is an orbital defense asset combining a booster and kill vehicle, designed to rapidly maneuver from space to intercept and physically collide with an incoming missile, neutralizing the threat through kinetic impact.



By being hosted in an Orbital Magazine, an SBI has a prolonged lifespan and simplifies its environmental controls and communications systems, allowing for reduced complexity and costs.

Orbital Magazines host one or many interceptors, allowing thousands of SBIs to be staged in orbit, ready to combat large-scale missile attacks, avoiding the absentee problem and allowing for a diverse deployment strategy.

By centralizing key functionality to the Orbital Magazine, the SBIs themselves can be simplified — increasing performance while reducing costs and leading to increased success of a missile defense shield over America and our allies.