China’s first generation of geostationary meteorological satellite named Feng Yun (FY-2). Photo: China’s National Satellite Meteorological Center

[Via Satellite 12-30-2014] China’s first geostationary meteorological satellite, FY 2C, has been deorbited in compliance with national space debris mitigation standards and those of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), according to China’s state-run media agency Xinhua. The deorbit process took from Dec. 10 to Dec. 13.

FY 2C launched in October 2004, and was put in a backup status after halting operations in 2009. Three FY 2 geostationary weather satellites remain in-orbit. China has plans to launch the next satellite, FY 2 08 by the end of this month.