Aerospace Sourcing
Fabrication shops

Aerospace Work for Sheet Metal, Welding and GSE Fabricators

Fabricators get into aerospace mostly through ground support equipment, structures and fixtures, and the deciding factor is usually welding qualification and records. Buyers want welders and procedures qualified to the specification on the drawing, often AWS D17.1, with weld inspection and material traceability documented for every assembly.

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Where fabricators fit in aerospace and space programs

Most fabrication work in space programs is not flight hardware. It is the equipment that builds, moves, tests, fuels and launches the flight hardware: stands, access platforms, transport and handling fixtures, lifting beams, umbilical brackets, cable trays, enclosures, tubing runs and skids. That equipment still has to meet engineering requirements, and some of it carries heavy safety and cleanliness requirements, but the entry bar is often lower than for parts that fly.

Sheet metal shops also supply formed enclosures, chassis and brackets for electronics and test equipment. Welding shops supply frames and pressure system assemblies. Both find work on the Space Coast because launch operators and payload processors constantly modify, replace and add ground equipment as vehicles and missions change.

AWS D17.1: the aerospace fusion welding specification

When an aerospace drawing calls out welding, the specification is often AWS D17.1, Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications. The current edition is 2024. It covers arc and high energy beam fusion welding of aluminum, nickel, iron, cobalt, magnesium and titanium based alloys, and its scope includes not just flight hardware but support equipment, non-flight hardware and crewed spaceflight hardware.

D17.1 sets requirements for:

  • Welder and welding operator qualification, by test, with records you must keep current.
  • Procedure qualification, so each joint type, material and process combination is backed by a qualified procedure.
  • Fabrication controls, including joint preparation, cleaning and filler material.
  • Inspection and acceptance criteria, often by weld class, which the drawing or engineering authority assigns.
  • Repair welding.

The standard is applied together with the customer's engineering requirements, and the contract can exempt or add provisions. Read the drawing notes and purchase order to see which class and which provisions apply before you quote. Some primes also require Nadcap accreditation in welding for certain hardware.

Ground support equipment design standards

For NASA programs, ground support equipment is designed and built to NASA-STD-5005, which sets requirements so GSE supporting spaceflight is robust, safe, reliable and maintainable. The standard is meant to be tailored by each program based on a criticality review. At Kennedy Space Center the tailored version is the KSC GSE design manual, KSC-DE-512-SM. Commercial launch companies have their own internal standards that often borrow from the same ideas.

For a fabricator, these documents show up as drawing notes and inspection requirements: weld classes, required NDT, proof load testing of lifting equipment, corrosion protection, and cleanliness for anything in a fluid system. You are not usually responsible for the design, but you are responsible for building exactly what the design calls for and proving it.

Weld inspection and the records buyers expect

An aerospace welded assembly ships with more paper than a commercial one. Expect to provide some or all of the following:

  • Material certs for base metal and filler metal, traceable by heat or lot number.
  • A weld map identifying each weld, the welder who made it, and the procedure used.
  • Current welder qualification records for every welder who touched the job.
  • Visual inspection results and any nondestructive testing reports, such as penetrant, magnetic particle, radiographic or ultrasonic.
  • Dimensional inspection results after welding and any stress relief.
  • Certs from outside processors for heat treat, plating, painting or cleaning.

NDT on aerospace work is normally performed by personnel qualified under NAS 410, the aerospace standard for NDT personnel certification. If you do not have qualified NDT staff in house, you will send that step out, and the provider's approvals must satisfy the customer.

Corrosion, cleanliness and the coastal environment

Launch pad equipment lives in salt air near the ocean, and many GSE drawings call for corrosion resistant materials, protective coatings, or specific passivation and paint systems. Fabricators who understand how to keep stainless and aluminum free of iron contamination during cutting, forming and grinding, by using dedicated tools and separate work areas, avoid rework at the finishing stage.

Anything that will carry oxygen, propellants or high pressure gases usually has to be precision cleaned after fabrication and before it is sealed. At Kennedy Space Center the cleanliness requirements for GSE fluid systems are set in KSC-C-123. That cleaning is usually done by a specialist, so design your fabrication sequence so parts can be cleaned and bagged without trapped residues. Our process houses page covers precision and oxygen cleaning in more detail.

Typical fabrication requests on the Space Coast

With launch sites at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, plus manufacturing campuses such as Blue Origin's New Glenn factory in Exploration Park, fabrication requests tend to fall into a few groups:

  • Work platforms, stairs and access stands for vehicle and payload processing.
  • Transport, handling and rotation fixtures for stages, fairings and payloads.
  • Lifting beams and slings that require load testing and documentation.
  • Tubing and piping assemblies for gas and propellant systems, later cleaned.
  • Electrical enclosures, racks and cable trays for pad and test stand wiring.
  • Replacement or modified GSE built from older drawings.

Large weldments may need a shop with crane capacity and space to assemble and inspect full size, so state your largest practical envelope and lift capacity on your capability sheet.

How a fabrication shop gets started

  1. Qualify welders and procedures to D17.1 for the materials and processes you want to sell, starting with what you already do well, such as aluminum and stainless GTAW.
  2. Set up weld records that link every weld to a welder, a procedure and material heat numbers.
  3. Find NDT and finishing partners who already hold the approvals your target customers require.
  4. Get your quality system in order. AS9100 is the common target; see our AS9100 cost page.
  5. Prepare for export and security questions. GSE drawings can still be ITAR controlled; see ITAR registration.
  6. Bid ground equipment first to build the track record that later supports flight hardware work.

Receive GSE and fabrication RFQs free

Sign up at /suppliers/ to receive RFQs as a supplier. Ground support equipment, fixtures and structures are some of the most common requests buyers send us, and we flow down weld, inspection and cleanliness requirements in writing so you know exactly what is expected before you quote. You sign a flow-down NDA before seeing customer drawings, and we review every signup and contact you when work fits, without promising a fixed volume. Related reading: machine shops, process houses, and the supplier hub.

Questions

What welding standard do aerospace customers use?

For fusion welding of aerospace hardware, AWS D17.1, Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications, is the most common callout. Its current edition is 2024, and it covers aluminum, nickel, iron, cobalt, magnesium and titanium alloys by arc and high energy beam processes, for flight, support and non-flight hardware. Some customers use their own specifications or require Nadcap welding accreditation, so always check the drawing and purchase order.

Does ground support equipment need the same paperwork as flight hardware?

Usually less, but not none. GSE is built to engineering requirements such as NASA-STD-5005, tailored by each program, and the drawing will specify weld classes, inspections, load tests and cleanliness where they matter. Lifting equipment and fluid system assemblies tend to carry the heaviest documentation. Expect material certs, weld records and inspection reports on almost any GSE job.

Who can do NDT on aerospace welds?

Aerospace customers generally require NDT personnel to be qualified and certified under NAS 410, which sets levels of qualification combining training, experience and examination, with the employer running the certification program. If your shop does not have NAS 410 qualified staff, you can send weld inspection to an outside NDT provider, provided that provider meets your customer's approval requirements.

Why do launch pad parts need precision cleaning?

Contamination in oxygen and propellant systems can cause blockages, damage seals, or ignite. Equipment that carries these fluids is cleaned to a specified cleanliness level after fabrication. At Kennedy Space Center, KSC-C-123 sets cleanliness levels, cleaning, verification and packaging for GSE fluid system surfaces. Fabricators should sequence work so parts can be cleaned and sealed without trapped residues.

Can a small fab shop win work through Aerospace Sourcing?

Yes, if your capabilities match a request. We match buyer requests to suppliers based on equipment, materials, envelope, welding qualifications and certifications, and many GSE and fixture jobs suit smaller shops. Signing up is free at /suppliers/. We review every signup and reach out when a request fits, but we do not promise a specific number of RFQs.

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