Click Here Defying Gravity
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Feb 10, 2026 Ed Lu, former NASA astronaut and space scientist who mapped the ISS and studies orbital threats. He discusses the growing cloud of space debris and how tiny fragments can cripple satellites. He explores the risks of deliberate attacks, the need for traffic-control systems in low Earth orbit, and lessons from internet security for governing space.
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Close Calls On The International Space Station
- Ed Lu discovered bullet-like holes and pockmarks on the ISS handrails during a spacewalk, evidence of micrometeoroid impacts.
- A tiny fleck of debris can strike with the force of a bowling ball at 60 mph and cracked a Chinese capsule windshield in October.
Build Air Traffic Control For Space
- Map and track objects in orbit to predict collisions and give operators time to maneuver satellites.
- Ed Lu built systems that can spot a collision seven days in advance so operators can move assets safely.
Low Earth Orbit Is Rapidly Crowding
- Low Earth orbit turned from sparse to crowded: active satellites rose from ~1,400 to over 11,000 in a decade.
- That density plus 25,000 trackable debris pieces creates real risk of cascading collisions (Kessler Syndrome).