Lazuli
An illustration of Lazuli, a space telescope with a mirror three meters across being developed privately. Credit: Schmidt Sciences

PHOENIX — A billionaire-backed philanthropic organization is funding the development of a series of new observatories, including a space telescope larger than Hubble that its backers say can be built at a fraction of the cost and on a much faster schedule.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...