NASA Goes Bargain Basement With New Satellite

coondoggie writes to tell us that NASA has announced a new low-cost satellite that could be ideal for those who wish to get into space quickly and (relatively) inexpensively. "The Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology SATellite (FASTSAT) is 39.5 inches in diameter — not much larger than an exercise ball. It is hexagonally shaped and clocks in at a little less than 200 Lbs. It can carry a payload up to 110 Lbs. [...] NASA said FASTSAT is just the right size for earth observing missions, space science missions, and technology demonstrations. 'We think we can do whole missions for less than $10 million instead of the traditional $100s of millions, and that includes the launch vehicle, the satellite, and the widget you want to test,' said Marshall Space Flight Center's Edward 'Sandy' Montgomery in a release."

Comments

Re:not all rosy...

[king-manic]

The Russians aren't too happy about this new side to NASA... they're trying to distance themselves from the whole idea... Perhaps in the past they were very geek friendly and carried many niche goods but these days Radio Shack/Circuit City seems to be the Compaq of electronics. Thats is premium quality priced for below average quality goods. Want to pay 25% more for stuff you can find at semi-expensive best buy? go to Radio Shack/Circuit city? Want to speak to someone without a clue about what they sell? Go to Radio Shack/Circuit City. Want a novel piece of junk that doesn't do anything? Go to radio shack/ circuit city.

It's sort of appalling that anyone would partner with them.