AOS Production Line

The AOS Production Line is the high-volume satellite manufacturing system developed by Airbus OneWeb Satellites (AOS) at its dedicated factory in Merritt Island, Florida, with a complementary line in Toulouse, France. Built specifically to manufacture standardized small satellites for the OneWeb LEO broadband constellation, the production line applies automotive-inspired lean manufacturing methods, pulse-line assembly, and extensive test automation to satellite integration, a radical departure from the traditional model of building large geostationary spacecraft individually by hand.

Production began in mid-2019, and by January 2020 the Merritt Island facility reached its target output of two satellites per day, a throughput previously unheard of in the space industry. Satellites move along a continuously advancing assembly line through standardized structural integration, avionics installation, propulsion fitting, solar array attachment, and automated functional and environmental testing stations, dramatically reducing per-unit labor time and cost compared to conventional bespoke satellite manufacturing.

The production line enabled Airbus OneWeb Satellites to build and deliver the full first-generation OneWeb constellation of over 600 operational satellites, and it established a manufacturing blueprint that Airbus has since applied to other constellation and smallsat programs, positioning AOS as a pioneer of industrial-scale satellite production for the mega-constellation era.