FENGYUN 2B AKM

FENGYUN 2B AKM is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2000-06-25 from Xichang, China on the Feng Yun Er Yi launch. With over 26 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,708 km and 35,903 km with an inclination of 14.4°. It travels at approximately 11,067 km/h (3.07 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 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 2B 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 2B 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 14.4°, 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 2B AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 712 active payloads and 64 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ASTRA 1N, GOES 16, TDRS 13. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 112 share a similar altitude band with FENGYUN 2B AKM.