Apollo Fusion is a manufacturer specializing in electric propulsion systems for satellites. They designed and built state-of-the-art Hall thruster systems, like the Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE), for government and commercial satellite programs. In 2021, Apollo Fusion was acquired by Astra Space to expand Astra's launch capabilities beyond low Earth orbit. Their propulsion systems have been used by customers like Spaceflight Inc. and are designed for high-volume manufacturing to meet the demands of modern satellite constellations.
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Mike Cassidy is the Founder and CEO of Apollo Fusion.
Astra will incorporate Apollo Fusion’s Apollo Constellation Engine electric propulsion systems into satellite buses the company is developing.
Astra planned the acquisition of Apollo Fusion in a transaction valued up to $145,000,000.
Apollo Fusion shares Astra's focus on maximizing development velocity and designing for scale.
Apollo Fusion manufactures a leading electric propulsion engine.
The Transporter-2 mission will feature Sherpa-FX2 and debut Sherpa-LTE1, which uses electric propulsion from Apollo Fusion.
Apollo Fusion won an order from York Space Systems for a set of satellite electric propulsion systems on 2021-01-26.
Apollo Fusion currently offers two versions of the ACE thruster, one that uses 400 watts of power and one that uses 1,400 watts of power.
Saturn Satellite Networks will use Apollo Fusion’s Hall effect thrusters on the small geostationary orbit satellites it is developing.
Apollo Fusion will provide its Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE) electric propulsion system for a low Earth orbit constellation of at least 10 satellites that York Space Systems is building for launch in 2022.
An unnamed manufacturing partner that supplies Apollo Fusion produces other components for companies such as Northrop Grumman and Raytheon and can produce tens to hundreds of thruster units per month.
Sherpa-LTE is an electric-propulsion orbital transfer vehicle that uses high specific impulse Xenon propellant and the ACE Hall thruster propulsion system developed by Apollo Fusion, Inc.
Apollo Fusion has raised nearly $25,000,000 in funding.
Apollo Fusion team members have designed and built propulsion systems that are flying on over 1,000 satellites in orbit.
Apollo Fusion plans to start commercial production of AXE thrusters in early 2020.
Apollo Fusion signed an agreement with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that gives Apollo Fusion an exclusive worldwide commercial license for JPL’s Magnetically Shielded Miniature (MaSMi) Hall thruster technology and a contract to provide JPL with three MaSMi-based thrusters.
Apollo Fusion will deliver three MaSMi-based thrusters to JPL primarily for ground testing, with one of the thrusters potentially usable on a future spacecraft.
AXE will provide higher thrust and performance than Apollo Fusion’s existing Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE), with AXE specified at 1,000 watts and 55 millinewtons of thrust versus ACE at 400 watts and 24 millinewtons of thrust.
Apollo Fusion expects AXE to be of interest to developers of high-power satellites, including all-electric geostationary satellites that seek higher performance to decrease transit time to geostationary orbit.
Greylock Partners led Apollo Fusion’s $10,000,000 Series B funding round.