NORAD has been tracking space debris since the beginning of the space age.
The Kessler Effect, also known as the Kessler Syndrome, was proposed by NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler in 1978. It describes a scenario where the density of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO)[1] is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade effect, creating more debris and increasing the likelihood of further collisions.
Orbital debris is any human-made object in orbit about the Earth that no longer serves a useful function. Such debris includes nonfunctional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, mission-related debris, and fragmentation debris.
Vanguard 1[1], designed to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle as a part of Project Vanguard, and the effects of the space environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit was launched by the USA on March 17, 1958, is the oldest piece of space junk. It stopped operating in 1964 but will continue orbiting Earth for 240 years.
