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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.
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Segment Guests
Jason Glenn
Dr. Jason Glenn led the concept study for the PRIMA space telescope, and is now a professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia.
Segment Transcript
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Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.