We often hear space described as congested and competitive but Dr. Brien Flewelling likes to describe the situation in space as dense, dynamic, and deep. This means that space traffic is getting denser as there are more spacecraft in orbit; it’s deeper with spacecraft in more orbits; and more dynamic as spacecraft maneuver more frequently. It's "not your dad’s space domain awareness,” he says.

Brien is the director of Strategic Program Development at ExoAnalytic Solutions. He joins the On Orbit podcast this week for a conversation about space domain awareness (SDA) and how NATO coordinates SDA. He shares his takeaways from the NATO Edge and Spacepower conferences in December, about how NATO can have better coordination in space domain awareness with greater adoption of commercial capabilities.

He answers what really happens when a satellite breaks apart in orbit, how decision-making in space is evolving to be more autonomous, and what’s needed to keep pace with everything being launched to orbit today.