# James Garret Nicholson — Patents explained on PatentBrief

James Garret Nicholson has 2 landmark patents explained in plain English on PatentBrief.

- [How Spacecraft Servicing Pods Maneuver and Refuel Other Satellites](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11685554/starship-upper-stage) — granted 2023
  A specialized robotic pod designed to dock with aging satellites and use a flexible, multi-jointed boom arm to adjust their orbit or velocity.
- [How a Host Spacecraft Refuels Another Satellite Without Using Its Fuel Tank](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11124318/starship-belly-flop-maneuver) — granted 2021
  A system where a host satellite carries and attaches small, non-propelled fuel modules to other satellites, feeding propellant directly into their engines to bypass damaged or empty onboard storage.

**Full profile:** https://patentbrief.org/inventor/james-garret-nicholson

---

_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Plain-English explanations of US patents._