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Falcon 9: the post claims ~90% of commercial access to space is provided via…

2026-08-01 · 07:28 UTC ·@Object_Zero_ ·1 min read

Brief

Weapons of Mass Production catalogs single assets that gate entire industries, naming Falcon 9 (≈90% of commercial launches), Ulsan shipyard (near-exclusive producer of large FPSOs/LNG tankers), the Muroran forge press (>200-ton ingots, Japan), and one Zeiss vacuum grinder that supplies ASML's EUV mirrors, and asks what else belongs on the list.

Why it matters

Falcon 9: the post claims ~90% of commercial access to space is provided via SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch system, making it a single-asset gate for the space launch sector.

Key details

  • Ulsan shipyard: large, high-quality FPSOs and LNG tankers are said to be almost exclusively manufactured at the Ulsan shipyard, concentrating global supply.
  • Critical manufacturing machines: the Muroran forge press produces most giant forged ingots >200 tons (concentrated in Japan), and a single Zeiss vacuum grinder reportedly makes the mirrors that enable ASML's frontier EUV lithography.
Source evidence

Weapons of Mass Production

Today there are a handful of single assets that gate huge sectors of the economy. The criteria should be something like >50% of the global supply passes through this one cool thing.

• Falcon 9
Commercial access to space is 90% via the Falcon 9 launch system.

• Ulsan shipyard
Large high quality FPSOs and LNG tankers are almost exclusively manufactured here.

• Muroran forge press
Giant forged ingots >200 tons are mostly made in Japan and by this giant forge press.

• Zeiss vacuum grinder
The mirrors that allow ASML to do frontier EUV lithography are made by 1 machine.

There are a few others but you get the idea, what else should be on the list?