Private organization plans large space telescope
Posted: Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 5:14 PM ET (2214 GMT)
A billionaire-backed philanthropic organization is funding development of a large space telescope. Schmidt Sciences announced Wednesday its plans for Lazuli, a space telescope with a mirror three meters across, larger than Hubble. Lazuli will be equipped with a camera, spectrograph and coronagraph for observing exoplanets. The organization plans to develop Lazuli rapidly, with a launch as soon as 2028, and at a “ridiculously” low price in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a tenth of the cost of NASA flagship astrophysics missions. Schmidt Sciences is also developing three ground-based observatories to operate in conjunction with Lazuli. The organization is funded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy; Eric Schmidt is also an investor in and CEO of launch company Relativity Space.
A billionaire-backed philanthropic organization is funding development of a large space telescope. Schmidt Sciences announced Wednesday its plans for Lazuli, a space telescope with a mirror three meters across, larger than Hubble. Lazuli will be equipped with a camera, spectrograph and coronagraph for observing exoplanets. The organization plans to develop Lazuli rapidly, with a launch as soon as 2028, and at a “ridiculously” low price in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a tenth of the cost of NASA flagship astrophysics missions. Schmidt Sciences is also developing three ground-based observatories to operate in conjunction with Lazuli. The organization is funded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy; Eric Schmidt is also an investor in and CEO of launch company Relativity Space.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, January 11
Sidus Space Appoints Aerospace Executive Kelle Wendling to Board of Directors
Sidus Space — 6:25 pm ET (2325 GMT) Astronomers Reveal Hidden Lives of the Early Universe’s Ultramassive Galaxies
Keck Observatory — 6:23 pm ET (2323 GMT) ThinkOrbital Inc. Announces Seed Round Led by TFX Capital to Accelerate Defense-Driven Space Capabilities, On-Orbit Servicing, and In-Space Construction
ThinkOrbital — 6:19 pm ET (2319 GMT) Starlab and Seven Grand Managers Announce Strategic Investment
Voyager Space — 6:17 pm ET (2317 GMT) Unprecedented Data on Global River Quality, Quantity Now Gathered From Space, Powered by UMass Amherst-Built Software
Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst — 6:17 pm ET (2317 GMT) |
