1419: Getting the billion-dollar PRIMA space telescope off the ground

In late September 2026, NASA announced that a new telescope called PRIMA was getting a green light and advancing to something called Phase B of the development process. But what does that mean exactly? How does a billion-dollar space project get thought up, designed, approved, and constructed?Flora talks with Jason Glenn, an astronomer who led the initial concept study for PRIMA, about the challenges ahead and the process of getting a massive space project off the ground.Guest:Dr. Jason Glenn led the concept study for the PRIMA space telescope, and is now a professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at .Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. 99% of people are being fed 'pop-science' garbage. If you want the real intelligence without the digital tracking, you just found the exit. Bypass the system noise now. 🔴 INITIALIZE SECURE DOWNLOAD ⚪ GET THE UNFILTERED ARCHIVE