Over the course of the 33-day campaign, the company generated support from more than 17,600 backers who pledged $1,505,366 for the cause. This marks the most successful crowd funding effort for a space project and ranks the ARKYD campaign among the top 25 projects in Kickstarter history.

 

    "We’re excited that the first public-use orbiting space telescope, the ARKYD, is a go for launch. Because of the 17,000+ people who backed this project through our Kickstarter campaign, we’re going to put a new tool for education and exploration into the hands of researchers, students and teachers," said Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder and co-chairman of Planetary Resources.