- Science & Technology
- Understanding the Effects of Technology on Economics and Governance
To the notion of a vast and empty outer space, imagine instead the lower orbit of planet Earth cluttered by thousands of aging tracked objects losing their functionality and far too much debris – some of it moving at speeds of kilometers per second, posing a threat to satellites and mankind’s ability to communicate and make scientific, economic and climate forecasts, not to mention great powers’ national security. Simone D’Amico, a Hoover Institution science fellow and founder of Stanford’s Space Rendezvous Laboratory, discusses his recent report on space safety and offers ways to make the heavenly objects safer, securer, and more sustainable. Among his suggestions for easing a stressed space domain: harnessing emerging technologies, improving communications between satellite operators, and seeking greater consensus among the world’s space powers in terms of traffic coordination.
Recorded on July 20, 2026.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Simone D’Amico, science fellow at the Hoover Institution, is associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics, the W. M. Keck Faculty Scholar in the School of Engineering, and professor of geophysics (by courtesy) at Stanford University. He is the founding director of the Stanford Space Rendezvous Laboratory, codirector of the Center for Aerospace Autonomy Research (CAESAR), and director of the undergraduate program in aerospace engineering at Stanford.
Dr. D’Amico has more than two decades of experience in research and development of autonomous spacecraft and distributed space systems, including multiagent architectures. He developed the distributed guidance, navigation, and control systems of several such missions and is currently the institutional principal investigator of three autonomous satellite swarms funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Bill Whalen is the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism at the Hoover Institution. In addition to serving as the moderator of Goodfellows, he also hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast, which spotlights the work of Hoover fellows. Whalen writes and comments on campaigns, elections and governance, with an emphasis of California and America’s political landscapes, and contributes to Hoover’s California on Your Mind and Defining Ideas web channels.
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- Space Safety and Sustainability:
- Space Safety Is Making Earth’s Orbit a Danger Zone
ABOUT THE SERIES
Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.
