Space Junk - Space debris or orbital debris, also called SPACE JUNK and space waste, are the objects in orbit around Earth created by humans, and that no longer serve any useful purpose. They consist of everything from entire spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to explosion fragments, paint flakes, dust, old graffiti styles and slag from solid rocket motors, deliberate insertion of small needles, and other small particles. Clouds of very small particles may cause erosive damage... so take care when you enjoy your next spacewalk.