Configuration de vaisseau spatial modulable, de faible coût

To reduce the time required to build spacecraft, and to reduce costs, the spacecraft are members of a set of spacecraft. Each member has the same structural members, such as panels, but different members of the set are elongated by multiples of an increment such as five inches. The structural panels of larger members of the set are elongated in the longitudinal direction, to provide more surface area for mounting payload, and to provide more heat rejection surface. The propellant tank(s), which may be fuel and oxidizer tanks, are spherical in the shortest members of the set, and are increased in length by addition of cylindrical sections, to provide greater volume in larger members to thereby provide longer operating life. Similarly, the solar panels, heat pipes and the like may be elongated.