Picture this: you are walking into the Strauss Center at UT Austin with your fellow Higher Orbits representative and an important-looking woman with blue hair. You can’t find the venue for the conference, and you’re worried about being late. Then, the woman with blue hair confidently says, “It’s okay, they can’t start without me anyway!” That’s when you realize that you have been chatting with Dr. Diane Howard, a major leader in
space traffic management and the organizer of the conference. That was the beginning of my day at the 12th Annual Space Traffic Management Conference in Austin.
Now, let’s step back a bit. Hi! I’m Eva Estrada. I am a freshman in high school, and I have been with Higher Orbits since 2024. I am extremely passionate about biology and space, and fields at the intersection of these domains. When Michelle publicized the offer to attend the 12th Annual Space Traffic Management Conference, I jumped at the opportunity. After some research, I realized how crucial and complex the issues are regarding managing and reducing orbital debris. Thus, I knew that this conference was going to be a prime learning experience and an opportunity to see how people from different disciplines come together to solve a problem at the heart of space. Along with me came Josie Choulat, Brianna Ortiz, and Kiera Fehr. As you will realize very soon, these girls took my conference experience to the next level.
First, we begin at day one of the conference. The conference started with baselining and understanding the current issues with space traffic management and the state of orbit. This is where I truly realized how congested LEO is, and how critical it is. I learned about Kessler syndrome, the ever-changing policy and regulations, and the lack of compliance with these. At the heart of it all is building trust across nations, increasing awareness, and making decisions with the environment in mind. Later, we learned about how issues in space traffic management ripple down to aviation traffic management. Here, I explored simulations showing how reentry affects commercial air traffic. On day two, we learned about the solutions and tactics necessary to improve orbital conditions.
This centered on managing for assurance by building communication and trust across SSA providers and ensuring that the logistics don’t get in the way of management. This also included many panels about the circular space economy and a variety of sustainable solutions. Lastly, my favorite part is looking into novel solutions that could take us into a sustainable future for space. Here, I learned about concepts such as space debris credits, a
system that quantifies and incentivizes the reduction of orbital debris. Along with that, I dived into the importance of cybersecurity and understanding that people and the state of space are interconnected, and thus so is our success.
As you can tell, the 12th Annual Space Traffic Management Conference was an informative and interdisciplinary view into orbital debris from all angles. However, equally valuable were the connections among attendees, speakers, and panelists. At this conference, connections didn’t mean mindlessly exchanging business cards or beginning conversations seeking compensation. Instead, connections meant meaningful interactions that were often, but not always, intellectual. I had many of these conversations with people from all over the world, as close as Canada and as far as the Netherlands, France, and England. These not only allowed me to understand space traffic management more deeply, but also to explore ideas and viewpoints about space in general. From interactions about nonhuman intelligences, trauma medicine in zero gravity, using AI as a teammate, the importance of intellectual property, and so much more! I was also able to have valuable conversations about navigating education and entering the industry. Especially after our panel, we received many compliments and advice about our careers. With many conflicting suggestions and recommendations, my favorite piece of advice was, “At the end of the day… don’t listen to anyone my age! We are not infallible.”
Most excitingly, people were eager to learn more about Higher Orbits. It was a joy when someone asked, “So… what is Higher Orbits?” knowing that I was about to tell them their childhood dream come to life. I vividly remember seeing people’s eyes widen when we told them how many doors Higher Orbits opened for us, followed by the question, “And, you don’t have to pay to be there?” which then caused them to be irrefutably
flabbergasted when we informed them that it is a nonprofit organization.
from Higher Orbits.
Thus, I’d like to thank Higher Orbits for allowing me to participate in a conference and trusting me to represent and do justice to this out-of-this-world organization. I made a lifetime’s worth of memories and added new names to my space crew. That being said, Josie, Kiera, and Brianna, y’all made this event ten times better. Most importantly, I owe this experience to Michelle. She has not only offered me this opportunity but also inspired me to take it with confidence. Thank you, Michelle, for turning changing young people’s lives into your job. As I said in the panel, for me, Higher Orbits has not been the beginning of a STEM journey, but a life-changing turning point. As always, I hope this retelling of my experience has inspired you to apply for whatever you wish and have the
confidence to say “yes” to the next best experience of your life
Written By Stellar Student Eva Estrada
