China’s aerospace industry is undergoing a quiet but potentially game-changing manufacturing revolution that could make rockets and satellites as efficiently produced as cars, according to scientists involved in the project.
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Through a painful structural reform, the country’s state-owned space sector is adopting a new production philosophy known as the “final assembly pull” system, a model inspired by lean manufacturing principles seen in the car industry.
This emerging system aims to mass-produce space systems not just quickly but with consistent quality, lower cost and greater flexibility.
With global space activity projected to grow exponentially fuelled by new technology and orbital launches reaching 170,000 tonnes of payloads annually by 2045, the country that masters scalable space production will dominate the future, according to the researchers.
Traditional aerospace production has been a “push” system: components are made based on forecasts and schedules, often leading to mismatches, delays and inventory pile-ups.
The new “pull” model flips this logic. Instead of pushing parts through the pipeline, final assembly pulls components from upstream suppliers solely when needed and strictly in the required quantity.