FENGYUN 2A AKM

FENGYUN 2A AKM is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 1997-06-10 from Xichang, China on the Feng Yun Er Jia launch. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 34,138 km and 36,004 km with an inclination of 13.8°. It travels at approximately 11,165 km/h (3.10 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 20 minutes — that’s roughly 1.03 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like FENGYUN 2A AKM are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

FENGYUN 2A AKM occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 13.8°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of FENGYUN 2A AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 0 active payloads and 11 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total.