[Satellite TODAY 12-03-09] Northrop Grumman is partnering with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to design a spacecraft bus with plug-and-play capabilities in order to reduce cost and schedule in developing future space systems, Northrop Grumman announced Dec. 2.
    The partnership will see AFRL award Northrop Grumman with an initial $500,000 task order for a six-month study under its Plug-and-Play Spacecraft Technologies program. The company will deliver the study to the AFRL’s space vehicles directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The task order was awarded under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $200 million.
    "Plug-and-play capability could change the way spacecraft are built by shortening industry’s response time to customers’ mission requirements. It will provide a standard interface for different payload components, much like a laptop computer that immediately recognizes new hardware when it’s plugged in," Steve Hixson, vice president of space and directed energy systems for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, said in a statement.

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