Next Generation Multifunctional Bus (NGMB)

DoD and commercial customers are designing future missions that require the rapid launch and deployment of an increasing number of single and multi-spacecraft constellations. To meet consumer market demands, these missions also require drastic reductionsin life cycle costs. Conventional methods of spacecraft structural support for launch, command and data handling, thermal management and propulsion have limited the evolution to configurations that enable these needs. However, recent technologyadvancements in each of these subsystem areas have provided the opportunity for revolutionary spacecraft designs. ITN is proposing a Next Generation Multifunctional Bus (NGMB) that integrates current advancements while satisfying the growing needs for ahigh performance small satellite in the $5-10M price range. It also enables on-orbit servicing and reconfiguration, adopting design philosophies from the personal computer (PC) industry, the epitome of