Space Traffic Management, debris and the 2024 YR4 asteroid

We speak with Dr. Edward Lu, Astronaut, CTO and Co-Founder of Leo Labs.

In 2024 the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) inducted Dr. Edward Lu into its Hall of Fame today at the Federation’s 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy.

As a physicist, engineer, pilot, former NASA astronaut, inventor, educator, and serial co-founder, Ed has dedicated his career to mapping and tracking the unknown and the unseen to prevent disasters both in space and on Earth.

At LeoLabs, he leads the development of innovative technologies that identify, track, and monitor objects and activity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), including potentially disastrous on-orbit collisions. His technical expertise has been instrumental to operators all over the world as they seek to navigate space safely and securely.

In addition to his leadership role at LeoLabs, Ed founded the B612 Foundation, which develops tools and technologies to protect Earth from asteroid impacts.

Ed has dedicated his career to mapping and tracking the unknown and the unseen to prevent disasters both in space and on Earth.

Ed’s passion for space safety and security are informed by his career at NASA, which spanned 12 years and several flights aboard the Space Shuttle, Soyuz spacecraft, and the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2003, following the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA called upon Ed to launch to the ISS to maintain operations with a two-person skeleton crew. He completed the Russian Soyuz training in just nine weeks and became the first American to launch as the Flight Engineer aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. Ed and Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko spent six months aboard the ISS, conducting scientific research and demonstrating that it could be maintained with only two people.

By the end of his time at NASA, Ed logged more than 206 days in space and completed a spacewalk totaling more than six hours. He also earned NASA’s highest honor: the Distinguished Service Medal.

Ed’s vision and leadership, demonstrated throughout his career, are critical to our efforts to foster the growth of the global economy and preserve the U.S. and Allied advantage in space.

GSTCE 2025 is organised by Singapore Space & Technology Ltd (SSTL). MySecurity Media were proud media partners via Australia in Space | Space and Earth Partners and Advisory.

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