FENGYUN 2E AKM

FENGYUN 2E AKM is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2008-12-23 from Xichang, China on the fengyun erhao 06 xing launch. After 18 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,142 km and 35,423 km with an inclination of 9.8°. It travels at approximately 11,136 km/h (3.09 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 30 minutes — that’s roughly 1.02 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 2E 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 2E 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 9.8°, 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 2E AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 13 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total.