Conducting astronomy from beyond Earth's atmosphere has long been the exclusive province of NASA and other governments' space agencies. But that's changing. Thanks to advances in electronic miniaturization and the development of private spaceflight, it's now possible for universities and small companies to orbit their own satellites. For no more than the budget required to construct a large amateur observatory, anyone can launch a satellite capable of performing useful science. Within the next decade, it may even be possible for amateur groups to conduct space exploration from beyond low-Earth orbit.
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