Satellite D2D Provider Elveo Selects Satellite-Platform Manufacturer Apex Space for 320-Satellite Constellation
Originally published by Space Intel Report. Read the original article here.
Satellite direct-to-device startup Elveo Mobile, the result of the merger of Lynk Global and Omnispace, has selected Apex Space ‘s “Factory X” satellite-production model to produce Elveo’s initial 320-satellite constellation at a dedicated factory using Lynk IP.
California-based Apex’s business model is to apply its Octopus operating system to produce satellite platforms at a high rate for multiple customers. In a Sept. 14 announcement, Elveo said the first Apex-designed production facility will be in the United States before scaling to a global supply chain.
“As a leading manufacturer of next-generation spacecraft, Apex is helping us establish vertically integrated production and scale our supply chain, giving us an innovative and capital-efficient path to build our fleet,” said Ramu Potarazu, Chief Executive Officer, Elveo.
“This partnership not only puts us in control of our own development destiny and cost structure but also allows us to create high-tech economic opportunities internationally with partners.”
Lynk has built its own satellites so far but needed a partner to scale production, Potarazu has said, insisting that it’s Lynk technology that will drive the design.
Apex has raised more than $700 million in multiple financing rounds since it was founded in 2022. Its latest round, in June, closed with $200 million and led by Glade Brook Capital Partners. It resulted in a $2.3-billion valuation, Apex said.
Apex’s business model is to produce standardized satellite platforms at a high rate that are adapted to customer specifications.
Its first satellite, Aries SN1, was launched in March 2024 and has been reported as operating to specifications. The company’s 9,300-square-meter Los Angeles factory is capable of producing up to 200 satellites per year.
The company has said its satellite designs are licensed under the US Department of Commerce’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and are not subject to the stricter ITAR technology export rules.
“Working with Elveo is a perfect example of how Apex’s model can help accelerate proliferated LEO constellation deployments,” Apex Chief Executive Ian Cinnamon said in a Sept. 14 statement. “By partnering to stand up a dedicated production facility, we’re leveraging Apex’s deep expertise in mass manufacturing spacecraft platforms to deploy Elveo’s constellation years ahead of traditional bus supplier timelines.”
Elveo Chief Executive Ramu Potarazu had said in August, when the Lynk-Omnispace merger closed, that a New Space satellite platform designer had been selected and that the constellation was on schedule to begin launching in Q4 2027.
Accompanying the merger’s closure was an announcement by satellite fleet operator SES, an Elveo equity investor, that it had increased its investment. SES did not provide details on its investment total or its timing.
SES said it will work with Elveo on securing spectrum globally and providing access to SES’s global satellite and ground infrastructure.
Tata Group of India’s Nelco satellite communications division in August announced a $20-million investment in Elveo, through a convertible debt instrument, as part of a plan to deploy D2D services in India.
Potarazu said at the time that he was confident the company could find sufficient launch capacity for its 320 satellites.
Elveo’s satellites will use radio spectrum licensed to mobile network operators to expand the telcos’ coverage in their home markets. The satellites will also have S-band spectrum, the key asset that Omnispace brought to the merger.
Originally published by Space Intel Report. Read the original article here.