TJS-3 AKM

TJS-3 AKM is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2018-12-24 from Xichang, China on the TJS 3 launch. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 36,309 km and 36,357 km with an inclination of 4.7°. It travels at approximately 10,999 km/h (3.06 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.4 hours — that’s roughly 0.98 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 TJS-3 AKM are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

TJS-3 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 4.7°, 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 TJS-3 AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 42 active payloads and 8 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with TJS-3 AKM.