Patent ID: 11891196
Assignee: BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 10:
11. A method for deploying a spacecraft, comprising:
providing a first spacecraft having a bus portion and a first end portion, wherein the first spacecraft includes a power component in the bus portion and a sensor component in the first end portion, and wherein the bus portion is wider than the first end portion;
providing a second spacecraft having a bus portion and a first end portion, wherein the second spacecraft includes a power component in the bus portion and a sensor component in the first end portion, and wherein the bus portion is wider than the first end portion;
mounting the bus portion of the first spacecraft to a first mounting ring of a launch vehicle; and
mounting the bus portion of the second spacecraft to a second mounting ring of the launch vehicle, wherein the first and second mounting rings are stacked on top of one another along a longitudinal axis of the launch vehicle, wherein the first spacecraft has first and second ends, wherein a first plane that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the launch vehicle is coincident with the first end of the first spacecraft and intersects the second mounting ring, wherein the second spacecraft has first and second ends, and wherein a second plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the launch vehicle is coincident with the first end of the second spacecraft and intersects the first mounting ring.