This seems a lot like AMSAT's philosophy and didn't NASA build them like this 40 years ago?

Bargain Basement Satellites
11.19.2007

November 19, 2007: Looking for a cheap fare 'round the world? Your search is over. A NASA team has built a small, low-cost satellite called FASTSAT, and it's almost ready to fly.

Need some details before you sign up? Read on.

Why is it called FASTSAT?

It's not because it travels fast. It's because it was built in a hurry. The FASTSAT team built this prototype in a mere 10½ months for the relatively thrifty sum of 4 million dollars.

"That's unheard of," says Marshall Space Flight Center's Edward "Sandy" Montgomery, "to build something that will fly in space in that short time frame and for that amount of money. But that was part of our experiment – to see if it could be done." The full name says it all: Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology SATellite.