FENGYUN 2D AKM

FENGYUN 2D AKM is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2006-12-08 from Xichang, China on the fengyun erhao D xing launch. With over 20 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,586 km and 36,504 km with an inclination of 11.8°. It travels at approximately 11,036 km/h (3.07 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 0.99 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 2D 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 2D 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 11.8°, 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 2D AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 92 active payloads and 26 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 6 share a similar altitude band with FENGYUN 2D AKM.