Taizhou StarSmart, a satellite factory of Chinese automaker Geely Group, has received approval from China's National Development and Reform Commission for commercial satellite manufacturing, meaning the factory can begin mass production of satellites.
This is the first commercial satellite production base in China led by a private company that combines aerospace manufacturing and automotive manufacturing capabilities. The plant's first equipment is currently on-site and is expected to go into production in October this year, with an annual production capacity of more than 500 satellites.
The factory is located in Taizhou's Xinwan District, and its business covers satellite R&D, core component manufacturing, testing, transportation and control, aerospace materials, and cloud computing materials.
The project will not only have satellite production capacity, but also establish satellite data operation center and satellite measurement and control center to realize data processing, analysis, and management of the company's orbiting satellites, as well as constellation control, orbit forecasting, satellite status monitoring, and health status diagnosis and other capabilities.
Founded in 2019, Taizhou StarSmart is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Technology Group Co., Ltd. Its future products include commercial satellites and customized satellites, which will be mainly used for communication and navigation.
The factory combines the industrialized and automated production model of the automotive industry to create a scalable, flexible and intelligent pulse production line, said Xu Zhihao, CEO of Geely Technology Group.
It has omnidirectional transfer platform, collaborative robot, automatic assembly platform, multi-functional test platform and other advanced tooling, which can meet the industry's development needs like microsatellite's short development cycle, rapid technology update, and high functional density, and improve the manufacturing industry chain China's commercialized satellite, according to Xu.
(Taizhou StarSmart Satellite Intelligent AIT Center)
