SEATTLE — Millions of pieces of "space junk" or debris is orbiting in Earth's atmosphere as more satellites and rockets are launched.
Former NASA engineer and two-time author Linda Dawson stopped by the KING 5 studios to discuss the topic and preview a talk she will give at The Museum of Flight in Seattle on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Dawson was an aeronautical flight controller on the NASA Space Shuttle Program and a navigation and guidance engineer for the Boeing Space Center in Kent. She's authored two books about spaceflight.
Sizes of debris vary from the size of a fleck of paint to the size of a rocket, according to Dawson.
Even a small chunk of debris is traveling fast enough to damage or even destroy a spacecraft or satellite that happens to be in its path. Dawson said these collisions could impact our communications systems and the Internet, among other systems.
Dawson said these objects are capable of remaining in Earth's orbit for a long time until eventually pulled back to Earth by gravity, a process that could take years or even decades. She will speak at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31.
The Museum of Flight's new exhibit - Home Beyond Earth - is an immersive exhibition that goes to the heart of the human experience of living in space. Home Beyond Earth features over fifty artifacts, models, space-flown objects and uniforms.
The exhibit is in the Special Exhibits Gallery in the William E. Boeing Red Barn.
For more information about the exhibit - click here.
Home Beyond Earth is included with general admission and is free on "Free First Thursdays."