Schmidt Sciences Backs Private Space Telescope and Observatory Network

Schmidt Sciences, a nonprofit founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt in 2024, is supporting a new set of astronomical facilities that includes both a space telescope and ground-based observatories. This initiative was announced at the American Astronomical Society’s winter meeting in early January 2026.

The Lazuli space telescope, funded by Schmidt Sciences, is being developed as a privately built observatory with a mirror larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope. Plans for Lazuli include advanced instruments such as a wide-field camera, an integral-field spectrograph, and a coronagraph.

Lazuli is one component of the broader Schmidt Observatory System, which also features three ground-based projects: the Argus Array, the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA), and the Large Fiber Array Spectroscopic Telescope (LFAST). Each facility is designed to address different aspects of astronomical observation, with the Argus Array focusing on optical imaging, the DSA on radio astronomy, and LFAST on spectroscopic studies.

The Argus Array will use approximately 1,200 small telescopes to continuously image the northern sky, achieving the light-gathering capability of an 8-meter telescope and capturing up to one image per second. The DSA will include about 1,600 radio dishes located in Nevada, producing a new sky image roughly every 15 minutes. LFAST will employ multiple small mirrors in a scalable configuration, with a prototype potentially ready by mid-2026.

What the numbers show

• Lazuli’s mirror will be about 3.0–3.1 meters in diameter
• The Argus Array will consist of around 1,200 optical telescopes
• The DSA will use about 1,600 radio dishes in Nevada
• Lazuli could launch as early as 2028–2029
• The Argus Array is expected to be operational by 2027

All four observatories in the Schmidt Observatory System are intended to operate under an open-science model. According to the published plans, data and software will be widely shared, and observation time will be allocated through open competition among researchers.

The timeline for these projects includes the Argus Array becoming operational by 2027, the DSA by 2029, and the Lazuli space telescope potentially launching between 2028 and 2029. LFAST’s prototype may be deployed by mid-2026, expanding the system’s spectroscopic capabilities.

Schmidt Sciences’ funding of these observatories marks a shift toward private philanthropy in the development of large-scale astronomical infrastructure. The organization’s approach includes supporting both space-based and ground-based facilities under a unified open-access policy.

The announcement of these projects at the American Astronomical Society’s meeting introduced a new model for funding and operating advanced astronomical observatories. The initiative combines private resources with open scientific collaboration, aiming to broaden access to data and research opportunities in astronomy.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.