Episode Details

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop speaks with Aaron Borger, founder and CEO of Orbital Robotics, about the emerging world of space robotics and satellite capture technology. The conversation covers a fascinating range of topics including Borger's early experience launching AI-controlled robotic arms to space as a student, his work at Blue Origin developing lunar lander software, and how his company is developing robots that can capture other spacecraft for refueling, repair, and debris removal. They discuss the technical challenges of operating in space - from radiation hardening electronics to dealing with tumbling satellites - as well as the broader implications for the space economy, from preventing the Kessler effect to building space-based recycling facilities and mining lunar ice for rocket fuel. You can find more about Aaron Borger’s work at Orbital Robots and follow him on LinkedIn for updates on upcoming missions and demos. 

Check out this GPT we trained on the conversation

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to orbital robotics, satellite capture, and why sensing and perception matter in space
05:00 The Kessler Effect, cascading collisions, and why space debris is an economic problem before it is an existential one
10:00 From debris removal to orbital recycling and the idea of turning junk into infrastructure
15:00 Long-term vision of space factories, lunar ice, and refueling satellites to bootstrap a lunar economy
20:00 Satellite upgrading, servicing live spacecraft, and expanding today’s narrow space economy
25:00 Costs of collision avoidance, ISS maneuvers, and making debris capture economically viable
30:00 Early experiments with AI-controlled robotic arms, suborbital launches, and reinforcement learning in microgravity
35:00 Why deterministic AI and provable safety matter more than LLM hype for spacecraft control
40:00 Radiation, single event upsets, and designing space-safe AI systems with bounded behavior
45:00 AI, physics-based world models, and autonomy as the key to scaling space operations
50:00 Manufacturing constraints, space supply chains, and lessons from rocket engine software
55:00 The future of space startups, geopolitics, deterrence, and keeping space usable for humanity

Key Insights

1. Space Debris Removal as a Growing Economic Opportunity: Aaron Borger explains that orbital debris is becoming a critical problem with approximately 3,000-4,000 defunct satellites among the 15,000 total satellites in orbit. The company is developing robotic arms and AI-controlled spacecraft to capture other satellites for refueling, repair, debris removal, and even space station assembly. The economic case is compelling - it costs about $1 million for the ISS to maneuver around debris, so if their spacecraft can capture and remove multiple pieces of debris for less than that cost per piece, it becomes financially viable while addressing the growing space junk problem.
2. Revolutionary AI Safety Methods Enable Space Robotics: Traditional NASA engineers have been reluctant to use AI for spacecraft control due to safety concerns, but Orbital Robotics has developed breakthrough methods combining reinforcement learning with traditional control systems that can mathematically prove the AI will behave safely. Their approach uses physics-based world models rather than pure data-driven learning, ensuring determ