Space Traffic Management AI: Lilian Krengel on OrbitGuard and Earth's Invisible Crisis

Earth's orbit is becoming a traffic jam. Nobody built the traffic lights yet — until Lilian Krengel did. At 19, Lilian is a Santa Clara freshman who founded OrbitGuard AI: an AI system that predicts satellite collision risks in real time, giving human operators the reaction window they need. In this episode of Still Human, we go far beyond the startup — into the gymnastics gym where she spent 13 years, the debate rooms where she argued NATO AI policy at 16, and the winter night she stayed up crying, questioning whether engineering was even right for her.

This is a conversation about what it actually takes to build something real — and what you almost lose in the process.

Show Notes

Lilian Krengel is a 19-year-old freshman at Santa Clara University and the founder of OrbitGuard AI, a real-time satellite collision risk prediction system designed to give human operators the decision window they need before it's too late. She spent 13 years as a competitive gymnast, competed in policy debate at the University of Michigan where she argued both sides of NATO AI governance at 16, and built her first machine learning model from a dorm room while questioning whether she belonged in engineering at all. Her position on AI is grounded and specific: use it like a calculator — a powerful extension of human judgment, not a replacement for it. For the Still Human audience, Lilian is the guest who shows you what happens when someone refuses to let a hard environment be an excuse not to build.

Articles & Research

No external research was cited in this episode.

Tools & Resources

OrbitGuard AI — Lilian's real-time satellite collision risk prediction system; the central project discussed throughout the episode
Policy debate (University of Michigan format) — Competitive debate format where Lilian argued both sides of NATO AI policy at 16; referenced as formative training for thinking in systems and holding opposing ideas simultaneously
AI as a calculator — Lilian's framework for appropriate AI use in education and work: a tool that amplifies human capability without replacing the thinking underneath

Related Still Human Episodes

People Mentioned

Bailley Georgieva — Still Human episode 4 guest; her questions to Lilian appear at the 44:00 mark

Timestamps

Timestamps are approximate — click to jump directly on YouTube.

[00:00:00] — Intro: Earth's invisible traffic jam
[00:05:30] — 13 years of competitive gymnastics: what it forged
[00:12:00] — Policy debate at the University of Michigan: arguing both sides
[00:20:00] — Building OrbitGuard AI: from the idea to training her first model
[00:31:00] — "A Stanford team built the same thing in one weekend"
[00:38:00] — AI in education: use it like a calculator, not a crutch
[00:44:00] — Bailley's questions: "Who are you without AI?"
[00:50:00] — The Still Human question: where does being human still matter most?

Quotes From This Episode

"Earth's orbit is becoming a traffic jam. Nobody built the traffic lights yet." — Lilian Krengel

"Use AI like a calculator — not a crutch. The calculator didn't replace mathematicians. It let them go further." — Lilian Krengel

"I stayed up that whole winter night crying, asking myself if engineering was even right for me. And then I kept going anyway. That's the only answer I've found." — Lilian Krengel

In This Episode

What OrbitGuard AI actually does — A real-time satellite collision risk prediction system designed to give human operators the reaction window they need before it's too late — built by a 19-year-old in a dorm room
13 years of competitive gymnastics — What a decade-plus of high-stakes physical discipline forges in a person, and how it shapes the way Lilian approaches building under pressure
Arguing NATO AI policy at 16 — Policy debate as a training ground for holding opposing ideas simultaneously — and why being forced to argue both sides is the best preparation for making hard decisions
The Stanford team moment — A competing team built a similar system in a single weekend. What Lilian did with that information, and what it reveals about how she defines progress
AI in education: the calculator framework — Lilian's position on how students should relate to AI tools — not avoidance, not dependence, but purposeful use that keeps human judgment intact
The winter night she almost quit — A personal account of the lowest point in her engineering journey: the doubt, the crying, and what kept her going
Who are you without AI? — Bailley Georgieva's questions push Lilian to define herself beyond her tools — what remains when you strip the technology away
What this conversation says about staying human — Lilian's thesis: the goal isn't to automate the hard parts. The goal is to do the hard parts well enough that the technology actually helps.

About Lilian Krengel

Lilian Krengel is a 19-year-old freshman at Santa Clara University and the founder of OrbitGuard AI, a real-time satellite collision risk prediction system built to give human operators the decision window they need. She spent 13 years as a competitive gymnast, competed in policy debate at the University of Michigan where she argued both sides of NATO AI governance at 16, and trained her first machine learning model while navigating the doubt and isolation of a hard first year in engineering. Her view on AI is grounded and practical: treat it like a calculator — a powerful extension of human judgment, not a substitute for it. She is one of the few people on this show who has looked directly at the question of whether she belonged in this field, answered honestly, and kept building anyway.

Connect With Lilian Krengel

Watch the episode: youtube.com/watch?v=I3lR2WbpVy8

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Still Human Podcast is a biweekly show by Oshen Studio, hosted by Perkin — exploring what it means to stay human in the age of AI. Real conversations with builders, creators, founders, and thinkers doing it in real life.

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Lilian Krengel: Space Traffic Management AI and Earth's Invisible Crisis