GOES 1 AKM

GOES 1 AKM is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1975-10-16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. After more than 51 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 34,207 km and 36,449 km with an inclination of 2.3°. It travels at approximately 11,130 km/h (3.09 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 33 minutes — that’s roughly 1.02 orbits per day. It is part of the Goes constellation group. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like GOES 1 AKM are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

GOES 1 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 2.3°, 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 GOES 1 AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 8 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. United States operates approximately 12,339 active satellites in total.