For the first time ever, a NASA science satellite will continue operating with private funding after federal government funding was cut off. The spacecraft is the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, which was launched in 2003 to survey the sky with its 19.7-inch telescope and ultraviolet sensor suite. To date its mapped about 80 percent of the sky. Caltech will cover the $100,000 a month cost of operating GALEX as it completes ts survey.