The Aerospace Corporation does too many things to list, but among its most important jobs is being one of the first calls you make when something goes wrong in or on your way to space.

Fox Business anchor Max Gorden recently visited Aerospace's Tech Campus in El Segundo, where he reported live for the Varney & Co and Big Money shows.

He interviewed Aerospace CEO Steve Isakowitz (soon to pass the reins to Tanya Pemberton), who noted the company's role as something like a first responder for space. That means both keeping commercial launches and missions running smoothly, and keeping an eye out in an environment that increasingly has the potential for conflict.

You can watch the Varney & Co clip right here.

"We've got to be prepared to defend ourselves, we've got to be prepared to win in such an environment, and ultimately at the end of the day other nations will see us in such a strong position that they would be deterred from trying to take on the US," Isakowitz said in the report.

In another clip, Gorden describes the importance of satellite tracking and control, and how Aerospace was in fact running a simulation of that domain as he spoke. He was referring to Spoon Bender, a wargame involving inter-satellite conflict that is currently being adapted as a test bed for AI systems.

As orbit gets more crowded and the satellites we have to watch and control grows by orders of magnitude, AI systems may be of help in providing analysis, recommendations, even orbital trajectories. You can read more here or watch the video below:

We'll have more to share on Spoon Bender soon; visit the Space Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco later this month if you're attending.