What is Orbital Debris?

Orbital debris is "junk" in space. It is pieces of spacecraft. Humans have been launching objects into space for more than 50 years.

Most of the "junk" has fallen back toward Earth. About once a day, something falls back to Earth. Some of these objects have landed on Earth. Since most of Earth's surface is water, objects usually fall there. Other objects burn up in the atmosphere. But many of the objects are still in orbit around Earth.