Stellar Space Industries receives AS9100 Certification

Last week Stellar Space Industries, located on campus, received their AS9100 certification, a widely adopted and standardised quality management system for the aerospace industry. Having received this certification, they can get to work on building for the SPEXone with Airbus DS and on structural components for the Ariane 6. “You can really distinguish your company from others with this certification”, explains Jerre Sweers, CEO of Stellar Space Industries.

The AS9100 certification is designed specifically for aerospace, defence and the high-tech sector. With this certification they are now fully certified to produce high-end equipment for the aerospace sector, where only a handful of Dutch Companies are certified to, AirbusDS being one of them. AS9100 was released in October, 1999, by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the European Association of Aerospace Industries. Major aerospace manufacturers and suppliers worldwide require compliance and/or registration to AS9100 as a condition of doing business with them. (Wikipedia)

For example, Stellar Space will produce Space Flight hardware for SPEXone, a compact, high precision optical satellite instrument that will characterize aerosols from a low orbit around the Earth. It is part of the NASA’s PACE satellite (launch 2023). SPEXone is being developed by a Dutch consortium consisting of the space research institute SRON and Airbus Defense and Space Netherlands, supported by opto-mechanical experts from TNO. SRON and Airbus DS NL are responsible for the design, assembly and testing of the instrument.

This certification strengthens the space campus philosophy. Certified companies are the first step towards attracting and developing the high-tech companies located on the campus. With this certification an extra layer of control is offered internally to ensure quality by an external auditing company. 

“It took us a year to achieve this status and we are very pleased that we achieved this in one shot, with compliments from our auditor”, says Jerre Sweers. “Our auditor was impressed by our preparation and expertise within the company. We expect to gain a lot of new business with it. With this certification we will approach more high-tech customers in the Netherlands and abroad through this certification.”

When reaching out to large global suppliers, it is not enough to offer proof, experience and results to produce material for their supply chain. Jerre Sweers explains that “when you want to do business with a global supplier for say, companies like Airbus or Boeing, their second question is usually ‘what is your certificate number?’. With it they can directly find out about your profile and based on that you can do business with them. Without it, you don't even need to expect a response. It really is a big deal within the space industry and we are really proud of this achievement.”