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

Claim 12:
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
wherein the first spacecraft is part of a first plurality of spacecraft, wherein each spacecraft in the first plurality of spacecraft includes a bus portion and a first end portion, wherein each spacecraft in the first plurality of 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;
wherein the second spacecraft is part of a second plurality of spacecraft, wherein each spacecraft in the second plurality of spacecraft includes 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 each spacecraft in the first plurality of spacecraft to the first mounting ring of the launch vehicle, wherein the first end portion of each spacecraft in the first plurality of spacecraft is nearer a nose cone of the launch vehicle than the bus portion; and
mounting the bus portion of each spacecraft in the second plurality of spacecraft to the second mounting ring of the launch vehicle, wherein the bus portion of each spacecraft in the second plurality of spacecraft is nearer the nose cone of the launch vehicle than the first end portion, wherein the spacecraft of the first plurality of spacecraft are radially interleaved with the spacecraft of the second plurality of spacecraft about the longitudinal axis of the launch vehicle such that each spacecraft in the first plurality of spacecraft is separated from a next spacecraft in the first plurality of spacecraft by one spacecraft in the second plurality of spacecraft.