FENGYUN 1C DEB

FENGYUN 1C DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 1999-05-10 from Taiyuan, China on the Feng Yun Yi Beng launch. With over 27 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 829 km and 1,216 km with an inclination of 98.4°. It travels at approximately 26,433 km/h (7.34 km/s), completing one full orbit every 106 minutes — that’s roughly 13.64 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, FENGYUN 1C DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

FENGYUN 1C DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,023 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of FENGYUN 1C DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 279 active payloads and 695 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 98.4°, FENGYUN 1C DEB passes over latitudes between 98.4°N and 98.4°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 123 share a similar altitude band with FENGYUN 1C DEB.