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Cases / Space debris and re-entry · China · 2007–2026

Fengyun-1C anti-satellite test

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

On 11 January 2007 China destroyed its Fengyun-1C weather satellite with a missile. The catalogue lists 3,532 pieces from the event, of which 2,312 were still in orbit on 15 October 2026.

3,532 / 2,312Catalogued pieces from the test / still in orbit on 15 Oct 2026
CelesTrak catalogue count, as tabulated in the ESA report and NASA Orbital Debris Quarterly News.

Status As of 15 October 2026: 2,312 of 3,532 catalogued pieces remained in orbit; no ruling, liability finding or cost figure is on record in the sources reviewed.

What?
China destroyed its Fengyun-1C satellite with a missile in an anti-satellite test, creating 3,532 catalogued pieces.
Where?
Low Earth orbit at 843–863 km altitude.
When?
11 January 2007.
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed do not state China's stated purpose.
How?
A missile struck the 958 kg satellite.
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

On 11 January 2007 China carried out an anti-satellite test against its own Fengyun-1C satellite, which had a mass of 958 kg and was at an altitude of 843 to 863 km. The event details come from the European Space Agency (ESA) report cited in NASA's Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN).

The catalogue of tracked objects lists 3,532 pieces from the event. On 15 October 2026, 2,312 of them were still in orbit, according to the CelesTrak catalogue.

NASA's Orbital Debris Quarterly News said that the Fengyun-1C test and the 2009 collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 together "more than doubled the cataloged objects below 1000 km altitude".

The same NASA newsletter reported collision-avoidance manoeuvres by a spacecraft: two in November 2024, taking the total to 40 since 1999, and one on 30 April 2025, raising it to 41. The fragments avoided came from the Fengyun-1C test (2007), the DMSP F13 explosion (2015) and a Chinese CZ-2D stage from 2005.

  1. 200711 January: China destroys Fengyun-1C with a missile at 843–863 km
  2. 200910 February: Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 collide at about 776–791 km
  3. 201927 March: India's Mission Shakti test against Microsat-R at about 294 × 265 km; 130 pieces catalogued, none left in orbit
  4. 2021Russian anti-satellite test: International Space Station crew shelter in their spacecraft for about two hours
  5. 2022The United States decides to stop anti-satellite missile tests; about 37 countries joined the moratorium
  6. 202530 April: a manoeuvre raises the total to 41 since 1999, avoiding fragments that included Fengyun-1C debris
  7. 202615 October: 2,312 of 3,532 catalogued Fengyun-1C pieces still in orbit (CelesTrak)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“more than doubled the cataloged objects below 1000 km altitude”

NASA Orbital Debris Quarterly News 29-3, on the Fengyun-1C test and the Iridium–Cosmos collision together · 2025 · NASA

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Fengyun-1C, 11 January 2007, 843–863 km, 958 kg: 3,532 catalogued pieces; 2,312 still in orbit on 15 October 2026.
    • Fragments from the 2007 test were among those a spacecraft avoided in manoeuvres counted at 40 (November 2024) and 41 (April 2025) since 1999.
      NASA
    • India's 2019 Mission Shakti test, at about 294 × 265 km: 130 catalogued pieces, none left in orbit.
    • After the 2021 Russian test the crew of the International Space Station sheltered in their spacecraft for about two hours.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Catalogued pieces from the test
    3,532
    CelesTrak catalogue, as tabulated by ESA / NASA
    Still in orbit on 15 October 2026
    2,312
    CelesTrak count
    Effect on catalogued objects below 1,000 km
    More than doubled
    With the 2009 collision; NASA ODQN 29-3

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No court case

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state China's own account of the 2007 test.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not applicable in the sources reviewed: the debris from the test remained in orbit in part (2,312 of 3,532 pieces on 15 October 2026). The United States decided in 2022 to stop anti-satellite missile tests, and about 37 countries joined the moratorium.

    Who paid?

    The sources reviewed do not state who bore costs. They record that the 2007 test and the 2009 collision together more than doubled the catalogued objects below 1,000 km, and that spacecraft have manoeuvred to avoid its fragments.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Government and regulators

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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