Production line optimization : development of ground support equipment for multi-product support : a thesis presented for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Food & Advanced Technology, Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 19th March 2027.

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dc.contributor.authorOrwin-Higgs, B.
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-27T20:17:26Z
dc.date.available2024-11-27T20:17:26Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionEmbargoed until 19th March 2027
dc.description.abstractThe small satellite industry suffers from extreme bottlenecks in manufacturing of its components, which dramatically lengthens the amount of time it takes to launch missions. These process bottlenecks mainly revolve around the complexity of satellite components, the difficulty of their manufacturing and validation testing as they are often tailor-made for bespoke missions, and the subsequent complexity and bespoke designs of the equipment which is required to approve them for flight. This is becoming a much more prevalent problem, as global demand for high-vehicle-count satellite constellation missions are becoming more sought after. Research into the optimization of manufacturing process lines for the small satellite market is vital to improve the throughput of these vehicles and their components and help to realize these constellation missions on a more frequent basis. The small satellite market hopes to optimize for increases in production capability, similar to those seen in the marine and automotive industries. This increase in production capacity is limited by the complex nature of satellite components, their designs, and the rigorous test campaigns required to approve these components for flight. Further, there exists little-to-no consolidated production line equipment to realize the yield quantities of components needed for modern high-volume constellation missions. This research work aims to evaluate the physical and financial feasibility of a piece of proof-of-concept production equipment and assess whether a design mentality for production equipment which is focussed on consolidation has the potential to optimize production lines for high-volume production. Capital cost, and a lack of lessons learned being able to be applied to multiple concurrent missions are the main bottlenecks for decreasing time-to-orbit between satellite missions. The output of this research is important to show that process line optimization and consolidated production equipment will help to address the issue of increasing mission frequency demands, increasing satellite launch revenue, and decreasing capital cost into production lines, specifically in the context of large-scale satellite constellation missions.--Shortened abstract
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72107
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMassey University
dc.rightsThe authoren
dc.subject.anzsrc400107 Satellite, space vehicle and missile design and testing
dc.titleProduction line optimization : development of ground support equipment for multi-product support : a thesis presented for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Food & Advanced Technology, Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 19th March 2027.en
dc.typeThesis
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