{"id":10649,"date":"2026-04-30T16:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T16:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/defense-business-brief-satellite-firms-secret-sauce-3d-print-factory-in-a-box-ship-lobby-ad\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T16:07:09","slug":"defense-business-brief-satellite-firms-secret-sauce-3d-print-factory-in-a-box-ship-lobby-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/defense-business-brief-satellite-firms-secret-sauce-3d-print-factory-in-a-box-ship-lobby-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Business Brief: Satellite firm\u2019s \u2018secret sauce\u2019 | 3D-print factory in a box | Ship-lobby ad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Apex wants to provide satellite buses to primes building proliferated constellations, which means building at scale, CEO Ian Cinnamon says.<\/p>\n

The company recently announced plans to make an XL version of its Comet satellite bus, adding power and mass yet still remaining small enough to fit 16 on a Falcon 9, Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

But, he said, \u201cI think what everybody tends to forget about is the need to really build these at really high rate production. And that’s really the focus around Comet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cinnamon said Apex builds at scale by reusing avionics and other systems from its earlier, medium-sized Nova bus\u2014but also by using Octopus, the custom software that he calls his company\u2019s \u201csecret sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEffectively, it’s not even our manufacturing operating system; it’s our entire company operating system,\u201d he said. \u201cIt controls everything from, you know, forecasting demand, understanding on inventory, receiving quality from suppliers. How many, you know, kits we’re holding on inventory at any given time, all the way to work, instructions on the factory floor, tracking, NCRs, traceability on orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like seemingly everything else these days, Octopus \u201cuses a significant amount of artificial intelligence, a significant amount of software automation for processes,\u201d the CEO said.<\/p>\n

But what Apex doesn\u2019t use\u2014at least not yet\u2014is industrial robotics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe that automation and robots, in terms of the hardware manufacturing, makes sense at all at the scale that we’re building,\u201d he said. \u201cIt does not make sense at the scale of hundreds of vehicles per year\u2026When you go above that scale, it may begin to make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve reached the Defense Business Brief, where we dig into what the Pentagon buys, who they\u2019re buying from, and why. Send along your tips, feedback, and song recommendations to lwilliams@defenseone.com<\/strong>. Check out the Defense Business Brief archive here<\/strong>, and tell your friends to subscribe<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

A new ad is pushing Congress to fund American shipbuilding <\/strong>to combat China and its growing commercial and naval fleets\u2014and also increase jobs and domestic manufacturing. The USA Shipbuilding Coalition, composed of shipbuilders and unions, released the video Wednesday\u2014with timing that appears to coincide with SHIPS Act legislation challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n