Satellite Factories of the Future
The trend in satellite production has evolved from the creation of single satellites to the manufacture of satellite constellations, introducing new challenges for technicians and engineers. ALTEN’s teams have responded by applying their historic expertise in modernization and industrialization, to design the satellite factories of the future.
The market for constellations is growing and the historic demand for large satellites, weighing between four and six tons, has diminished considerably. With this change, challenges have also evolved. Space industry is becoming increasingly competitive, driving the need for technological transformation.
ALTEN has been working for several years on the problems of scaling up and modernising industries across a wide range of sectors. Industry 4.0 has already revolutionized production in a lot of sectors, and Industry 5.0 is on the horizon. This next evolution integrates social and environmental responsibility, emphasizing the human factor in production processes. That industry combines technological advances with agile, customized approaches to meet customer needs more efficiently. In the space industry, this translates to more collaborative, sustainable, and innovative solutions, optimizing resources, and enhancing safety and efficiency through advanced technologies and improved human competencies.
A new paradigm
LAURENT DEL POZO /
ALTEN Project Director for space engineering activities
For one of its space clients, ALTEN was responsible for conducting the industrialization of a new plant. The Technical and Innovation Departments joined forces to design a factory from Toulouse, France. The challenge was to produce not single satellites, but constellations, and to do so quickly. “The space industry has had to adapt to series products”, says Laurent del Pozo, ALTEN Project Director for space engineering activities, “and these have absolutely nothing to do with the classic single product.”
FRANÇOIS PORTIER /
Director of the Smart Factory 4.0 Research Program
ALTEN conducted a study to analyze the existing situation in view of the new technologies available. They aimed to introduce new technologies only if there was real added value. “We put forward all the possible solutions. We validated them functionally with the customer and then worked with the suppliers to build the factory of the future. We came up with some very, very good, simulated results, which enabled us to meet the initial requirements of increasing output and ensuring quality and delivery times.” explains François Portier, Director of the Smart Factory 4.0 Research Program.
Changing Mindsets
One of the challenges the team faced was to convince people of the trustworthiness of the new solutions. In satellite production, the technicians don’t have the option of scrapping parts as they would in other industries, such as in automotive. Because of the nature of the equipment and the operations involved – very expensive, and very delicate – the new technologies being explored met with some resistance. “The change is radical,” explains Laurent. “When you go from a very low production rate to a much higher one, the whole industrial system is called into question.”
The ALTEN team found their answer to this challenge in simulations, which allow them to fine-tune things virtually. The simulations also allowed the team to determine the compatibility of different technologies, and to reduce risks in operations. Each solution had an impact on plant performance, and automation minimized human error, for example by using 3D scanning connected tools for precise screw tightening. The tightening is uniform, controlled, and the screws are traced to avoid any chance of overlooking one.
New Opportunities
“When you talk about automation,” says Francois, “it’s important to emphasize that it’s not a question of eliminating jobs. Sure, some activities should disappear, but new ones will emerge. When you start delegating non-value-added tasks, you can move on to more value-added ones.”
For example, it will be possible to monitor an assembly line much more closely thanks to data. This, in turn, makes it possible to switch to a preventive or even prescriptive mode, to plan ahead. This is necessary when contending with constraints that don’t exist in other sectors – related to large delta temperature, gravity, etc. These constraints have to be anticipated in the assembly process and testing.
“We can project what the plant will look like tomorrow and what it will be like in the future,” says Francois, “we can anticipate it. This not only means new jobs – the added value is really to have a sustainable factory, without breakdowns, securing the production stability and finding the right way to increase the productivity. It’s the human element that is playing an increasingly important role. It’s about moving from a curative mode to a preventive mode.”
