
Thomas G. Roberts is an adjunct fellow with the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His research interests include astrodynamics, space security, and space sustainability. His analysis and commentary have appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and other publications. Mr. Roberts is currently a graduate research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Astrodynamics, Space Robotics, and Controls Laboratory and a PhD candidate in the institute’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He holds an MS in aeronautics and astronautics and an MS in technology and policy from MIT and a BA in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University. In 2015, Mr. Roberts was named a Harry S. Truman scholar. In 2021, he was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship in support of his doctoral research in computational astrodynamics at MIT.
Areas of Expertise
In the News
We need to get our space junk problem under control
Thomas G. Roberts in The Washington Post — August 22, 2023
NASA Allows Private Business To Use International Space Station
Thomas G. Roberts in Southern California Public Radio — June 7, 2019
Why a space-based missile interceptor system is not viable
Thomas G. Roberts in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — June 28, 2018
President Trump wants his moonshot without paying for it
Thomas G. Roberts in SpaceNews — February 15, 2018
Deterrence in the Last Sanctuary
Thomas G. Roberts in War on the Rocks — January 2, 2018
Bad Idea: Space-Based Missile Interceptors
Thomas G. Roberts in Defense 360 — December 19, 2017
Why We Should Be Worried about a War in Space
Thomas G. Roberts in The Atlantic — December 15, 2017
Space Is Booming. America’s Next Heavy-Lift Rocket Should Reflect That
Todd Harrison Andrew Philip Hunter Kaitlyn Johnson and Thomas G. Roberts in Defense One — March 22, 2017
All Thomas G. Roberts Content
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Boost-Phase Missile Defense
Report by Ian Williams Masao Dahlgren Thomas G. Roberts and Tom Karako — June 24, 2022
Online Event: Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities in Space
Event — April 6, 2020
Space Threat Assessment 2020
Report by Todd Harrison Kaitlyn Johnson Thomas G. Roberts and Makena Young — March 30, 2020
Evaluating the Global Counterspace Landscape
Event — April 23, 2019
Space Threat Assessment 2019
Report by Todd Harrison Kaitlyn Johnson and Thomas G. Roberts — April 4, 2019
Spaceports of the World
Report by Thomas G. Roberts — March 13, 2019
What Can 24 Satellites Do for U.S. Missile Defense?
Brief by Thomas G. Roberts — October 18, 2018
Assessing Threats to Space Systems
Event — June 5, 2018
Space Threat Assessment 2018
Report by Todd Harrison Kaitlyn Johnson and Thomas G. Roberts — April 12, 2018
Implications of Ultra-Low-Cost Access to Space
Report by Todd Harrison Kaitlyn Johnson Thomas G. Roberts and Andrew Philip Hunter — March 21, 2017