A system and method for installing, deploying, and recovering a plurality of spacecraft that provides an ease of use and structural stability, and facilitates a standardization of spacecraft design. In embodiments of this invention, threaded rods are arranged orthogonal to a surface of a baseplate, and each spacecraft includes a coupling mechanism that selectively engages or disengages each threaded rod. Each spacecraft is added to the stack by engaging its coupling mechanism and rotating the threaded rods while the preceding spacecraft on the stack disengage their coupling mechanisms, thereby enabling the spacecraft to travel along the threaded rods toward the baseplate. When all of the spacecraft are added to the stack, the stack is preloaded by rotating the treaded rods into a terminator component at the top of the stack while the coupling mechanisms in all of the spacecraft are disengaged. Spacecraft are deployed by reversing the process.