Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›RASSVET-3 26 ⟷ STARLINK-11281
HighCross-border
On permanent record
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 6 min before the pass.
Closest approach22 Oct 202618:08 UTC
Relative speed12.39 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude355 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed22 Oct18:02 UTC · final forecast

RU RASSVET-3 26 and US STARLINK-11281 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.87 km at 2026-10-22 18:08 UTC, at a relative speed of 12.39 km/s. Final forecast, made 6 min before the pass. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations, the kind of event closely watched for space-security implications. Miss distance and time of closest approach are computed by propagating the latest published orbital elements for both objects, and each pass is re-checked every 20 minutes as new element sets are published. See the Satellite Maneuver Tracker for the live picture and space situational awareness for context.

Why it mattersBoth objects are catalogued as payloads. Screening continues as new element sets arrive; operators act on their own conjunction data.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
NORAD 100092
CountryCIS
Launched2026-07-19
COSPAR2026-165K
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 60996
CountryUS
Launched2024-09-05
COSPAR2024-158G
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 355 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 355 km this pass sits in low Earth orbit. Objects here stay up for decades: there is too little atmospheric drag to clean the band naturally. Why crowded bands matter →

History Between This Pair

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · RASSVET-3 26 ⟷ STARLINK-11281
2026-10-22 18:084.87 km Final forecast12.39 km/s355 kmShown above
2026-10-22 17:228.54 km Withdrawn12.37 km/s369 kmView →

Repeat encounters are common for objects in near-intersecting orbital planes. Each pass is re-screened as fresh element sets arrive; "Final forecast" means the screening still predicted it within 45 minutes of its time, "Not re-confirmed" means later screening stopped finding it.

Forecast Record

Every figure published for the pass shown above, newest first. Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.
Computed · figure · predicted time · orbit data · by
22 Oct 13:22 UTC4.87 km Forecast22 Oct 18:08 UTC22 Oct 06:51 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 13:02 UTC5.49 km Forecast22 Oct 18:08 UTC22 Oct 06:51 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.14 km10-20 07:55 UTC
RASSVET-3 26STARLINK-11287 [DTC]
2.80 km10-22 05:29 UTC
RASSVET-3 26STARLINK-11346 [DTC]
3.30 km10-19 05:52 UTC
RASSVET-3 26STARLINK-11164 [DTC]

How These Numbers Are Computed

Miss distance and TCA come from propagating the latest published orbital elements for both objects and searching for the minimum separation over the screening window. Element sets carry kilometre-scale uncertainty, so figures here describe a close pass, not a collision prediction; a change in either object's published elements re-computes the pass automatically. What is a conjunction? → How conjunction assessment works →

Cite this encounter: Orbital Radar — “RASSVET-3 26 ⟷ STARLINK-11281: 4.87 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/100092-60996 (accessed 2026-10-22).
✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.