PNEUMATIC CUBESAT PAYLOAD DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM UTILIZING LAUNCH VEHICLE TANK PRESSURE

A rail-captive sled for deploying payloads into outer space from a space launch vehicle. The sled is driven by a piston, powered by residual tank pressure from a tank native to the space launch vehicle. The rails are arranged parallel and adapted to a cross-sectional shape of a payload, such as small satellites or cubesats. The sled is a box frame sled with an adaptation to receive the piston. The rails may be attached to the residual pressure tank, with the piston in the residual pressure tank and aligned to the rails, or the pressure may be drawn from tank plumbing to a cylinder specific to the piston. The rails have a releasable closure to avoid unplanned egress of the payload, and the closure locks in the open position once released. The piston may be constrained by a direct constraint or by the closure via the payload.