Ground Control to Space Junk episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 4, 2023 · 27 MIN

Ground Control to Space Junk

from The Reason We’re All Still Here · host Jeffrey Lewis

There are no international laws against littering in space, which is a shame, because individual governments love to blow things up in low-Earth orbit. The result? A crisis of ricocheting debris that goes on forever. As private industry sends an unprecedented number of satellites into orbit, security experts find themselves in a race against the clock to bring sanity (or sanitation?) to the space around us. This episode features former NASA astrophysicist Donald Kessler, Professor Mariel Borowitz of Georgia Tech, and Victoria Samson and Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation. 

There are no international laws against littering in space, which is a shame, because individual governments love to blow things up in low-Earth orbit. The result? A crisis of ricocheting debris that goes on forever. As private industry sends an unprecedented number of satellites into orbit, security experts find themselves in a race against the clock to bring sanity (or sanitation?) to the space around us. This episode features former NASA astrophysicist Donald Kessler, Professor Mariel Borowitz of Georgia Tech, and Victoria Samson and Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation.

NOW PLAYING

Ground Control to Space Junk

0:00 27:38

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Reason We’re All Still Here?

This episode is 27 minutes long.

When was this The Reason We’re All Still Here episode published?

This episode was published on October 4, 2023.

What is this episode about?

There are no international laws against littering in space, which is a shame, because individual governments love to blow things up in low-Earth orbit. The result? A crisis of ricocheting debris that goes on forever. As private industry sends an...

Is there a transcript available for this episode?

Yes, a full transcript is available for this episode. You can read the complete transcript on the episode page.

Can I download this The Reason We’re All Still Here episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!