March 2023

This piece was written by Dr Darren McKnight with contributions from Erin Dale.

Dr Darren McKnight is LeoLabs Senior Technical Fellow. He has dedicated his career to developing technical solutions and encouraging behavior that fosters a more secure and sustainable space operations environment through limiting the risk of debris collision hazard in LEO. He has coauthored five books ranging from space debris and spacecraft operations to soccer coaching and innovation. Darren has authored over 100 technical papers and presented them across 16 countries. Darren received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy in Engineering Sciences, his master’s degree from the University of New Mexico in Mechanical Engineering, and his doctorate from the University of Colorado in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics’ Space Debris Committee.

Erin Dale is a business analyst at LeoLabs with 10 years experience in the space industry, degrees in Engineering Science and Environmental Policy, and a penchant for using Tableau. She relishes interdisciplinary projects, especially when they combine space safety, healthy and clean environments, and visualizing insights.