Patents by Inventor Robert Bryan Sullivan
Robert Bryan Sullivan has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20250340312Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may be configured to be deployed from a carrier spacecraft and include at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing devices may be configured to be transported from an initial orbit to another orbit after the spacecraft servicing device is deployed from the carrier spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 12, 2025Publication date: November 6, 2025Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow
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Patent number: 12415622Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing device may include a thruster assembly coupled to a boom arm, where the boom arm is configured to alter an orientation of the thruster assembly as the boom arm is rotated about the spacecraft body and a docking device.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2023Date of Patent: September 16, 2025Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Patent number: 12358655Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may be configured to be deployed from a carrier spacecraft and include at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing devices may be configured to be transported from an initial orbit to another orbit after the spacecraft servicing device is deployed from the carrier spacecraft.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2022Date of Patent: July 15, 2025Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow
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Patent number: 12240630Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one mission extension pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: GrantFiled: May 1, 2023Date of Patent: March 4, 2025Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20240158103Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2023Publication date: May 16, 2024Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20230271725Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one mission extension pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2023Publication date: August 31, 2023Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Patent number: 11718420Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one mission extension pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: GrantFiled: April 13, 2021Date of Patent: August 8, 2023Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Patent number: 11685554Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2020Date of Patent: June 27, 2023Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20230058379Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may be configured to be deployed from a carrier spacecraft and include at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing devices may be configured to be transported from an initial orbit to another orbit after the spacecraft servicing device is deployed from the carrier spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 3, 2022Publication date: February 23, 2023Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow
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Patent number: 11492148Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may be configured to be deployed from a carrier spacecraft and include at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing devices may be configured to be transported from an initial orbit to another orbit after the spacecraft servicing device is deployed from the carrier spacecraft.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 2020Date of Patent: November 8, 2022Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow
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Publication number: 20210253277Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 30, 2020Publication date: August 19, 2021Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20210237909Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one mission extension pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 13, 2021Publication date: August 5, 2021Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Patent number: 10994867Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least one pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2018Date of Patent: May 4, 2021Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Patent number: 10850869Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The servicing device may include a communication device configured to receive data relating to the target spacecraft from a location remote from the spacecraft servicing device. The servicing device may include a coupling mechanism comprising at least one movable coupling configured to rotate the body relative to the target spacecraft when the spacecraft servicing pod is coupled to the target spacecraft. The at least one spacecraft servicing component may include at least one propulsion device positioned on a boom arm extending away from the body.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2018Date of Patent: December 1, 2020Assignee: Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc.Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20200223568Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may be configured to be deployed from a carrier spacecraft and include at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft. The spacecraft servicing devices may be configured to be transported from an initial orbit to another orbit after the spacecraft servicing device is deployed from the carrier spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 14, 2020Publication date: July 16, 2020Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow
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Publication number: 20190023420Abstract: Spacecraft servicing systems include a spacecraft servicing device and at least one pod comprising at least one spacecraft servicing component. The spacecraft servicing device is configured to transfer the at least one pod to a target spacecraft in order to service the target spacecraft with the at least one spacecraft servicing component of the at least one pod. Spacecraft servicing pods configured to be supplied to a spacecraft with a spacecraft servicing device include at least one spacecraft servicing component.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2018Publication date: January 24, 2019Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo
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Publication number: 20190023422Abstract: Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2018Publication date: January 24, 2019Inventors: James Garret Nicholson, Daniel Carl Treachler, Oliver Benjamin Ortiz, James Dulin Reavill, Benjamin Michael Hekman, Robert Bryan Sullivan, Carlos Guillermo Niederstrasser, Mark Lieberbaum, Michael Joseph Glogowski, William A. Llorens, Kenneth Siu-Kin Chow, Peter Michael Cipollo