Nasa could learn a thing or two from the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association. One month after the clever folks in Maryland launched a satellite built for just $50,000 (instead of the originally anticipated $1,000,000), the satellite shows no sign of degrading.
"After a month in orbit, a satellite built by Naval Academy midshipmen with off-the-shelf parts from Radio Shack is exceeding all expectations, sending and receiving messages from ham radio users around the world."