Space is running out of room. Right now, 16,000 satellites and over a million pieces of debris are orbiting Earth — and a single paint chip traveling at 17,500 mph can destroy a billion-dollar spacecraft. David Godwin built the solution.
David is the co-founder and chairman of Slingshot Aerospace — the world's most advanced space situational awareness company. They call it "air traffic control for orbit, but with a brain." In this episode, he breaks down exactly what's happening in the orbital Wild West above our heads, why the asteroid mining gold rush is closer than most people realize, and what it actually takes to build a company in the space industry when you're not an aerospace engineer.
What you'll discover:
• How Slingshot Aerospace's AI-powered sensor network watches everything moving in orbit — and tells satellites not just to move, but exactly how far to move to stay safe for days ahead
• Why 1.2 million pieces of untracked space debris could eventually "landlock" humanity on Earth — and why a single breakup event can trigger a chain reaction
• The asteroid mining gold rush: why it's not science fiction, what rare metals and water ice on the moon mean for Earth's scarcity problems, and why Starship changes everything
• How a software entrepreneur with zero aerospace background co-founded a space company — and what "space DNA" you actually need to break in
• The real race to the moon: China, the US, prime lunar real estate, and the "blind spot in cislunar space" that could shift global power
Timestamps:
[00:00] How much stuff is actually in space?
[01:10] David's background — entrepreneur, not an engineer
[02:57] First companies: video games, enterprise SaaS, five businesses in
[04:26] Where did your interest in space come from?
[05:49] What is Slingshot Aerospace? Air traffic control for orbit
[08:47] How one paint chip can destroy a billion-dollar satellite
[09:44] How fast is space debris actually moving? (17,500 mph)
[11:47] Crisscrossing orbits — 3D collisions explained
[14:17] What happens when two satellites are on a collision course?
[16:51] Geopolitics in space: the Wild West of orbit
[17:38] Asteroid mining and the new gold rush
[19:06] Space resources: water, oxygen, rocket fuel, rare metals
[20:25] Things David thought were science fiction that turned out to be real
[25:18] How entrepreneurs can break into the space industry
[33:52] What "space DNA" means — and why you can't build without it
[36:21] US vs. China: optimistic or pessimistic about the space race?
[41:08] Closing thoughts from David
[42:58] Abundance Briefing: AI solves a 90-year math problem in 88 hours
[47:05] Rescue drones as flying life preservers
[52:03] Nuclear power in orbit — the $161 million bet
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About David Godwin:
David Godwin is the co-founder and chairman of Slingshot Aerospace, the leading commercial space situational awareness company. A serial entrepreneur with exits in gaming, enterprise SaaS, and notification technology (Alert Media), David brings the operator's lens to the final frontier.
Find David:
• Slingshot Aerospace: https://www.slingshotaerospace.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidgodwin
Find us online:
🌐 Website: https://talesofabundance.com/
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