Good for you. I went to a small private school where such things were a pipedream, and I expect in poorer countries than the USA the outlook is even bleaker for universities sending hardware to space.
> Not sure what politicians get elected over NASA projects in the last 40 years. Maybe for cutting their budget.
Are you seriously claiming that space pork doesn't exist?
I mean, e.g. Richard Shelby hasn't come out and said "I use my political clout to shackle science and exploration missions to the SLS because it is an economic boon to my constituency at the general expense of the American taxpayer", but if you have eyes to read between the lines it's not a difficult leap to make.
I later went to ASU where I worked for the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) which is a world-class department for students interested in aerospace.
Awesome aerospace R&D is certainly not solely the realm of Ivy League private schools.
This is a great example of how downward-trending costs of putting things in space have already opened doors. There are certainly more dimensions to that trend than SpaceX selling cheap launches.
When I went to university, CubeSats were barely a thing, unfortunately.
Also, the idea of filling up space with little chunks of non-government science and engineering seems to go against the stated position of the guy I've been replying to.
Sounds like we should probably invest more in improving the public school system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_Telephoto_Array
https://www.dragonflytelescope.org/
It's all published and anyone can make their own too. Using off the shelf products.
Having a colossal budget to blow isn't always the answer to everything in fact it's sometimes more of a hindrance which is clear to anyone ever involved with government procurement and how it works.
Not sure what politicians get elected over NASA projects in the last 40 years. Maybe for cutting their budget.