US 12,378,008 B2
Solar array spring elements for stacking spacecraft
Harry A. Yates, Mountain View, CA (US); Ryan Bieniek, Reno, NV (US); Alan J. Szeto, San Jose, CA (US); Kate Psyk, Tucson, AZ (US); and Jonathan Briend, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Maxar Space LLC, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed by Maxar Space LLC, Westminster, CO (US)
Filed on Apr. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/304,249.
Prior Publication US 2024/0351711 A1, Oct. 24, 2024
Int. Cl. B64G 1/44 (2006.01); B64G 1/10 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/443 (2013.01) [B64G 1/10 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus, comprising:
a spacecraft body;
a solar array attached to the spacecraft body; and
a solar array spring element that is attached to the solar array, the solar array spring element extends from the solar array and is configured to physically contact one or more components of a neighboring spacecraft in a stack of spacecraft and provide a force between the solar array and the one or more components of the neighboring spacecraft.