Planetary Resources, the Other Asteroid Mining Company, Unveils Space Telescope

On the same day that a new asteroid mining company launches, Planetary Resources is revealing the full-scale prototype of its Arkyd-100 space telescope. 

The telescope is part of the first series of products and the stepping stone in the company's mission to conquer space rocks. Planetary Resources made headlines last year with its bold plans to hunt down asteroids for profit.

The telescope is quite small, it only weighs 11 kilograms (24 pounds) which should mean very small costs to build and put into orbit. That's a big part of the company's plan; it wants to keep costs way down to make the whole venture profitable.

What you see in the video is just a prototype, but the company wants to put an Arkyd-100 telescope in space later in the year or next year at the latest.