Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›KITA-36 ⟷ OBJECT E
high · CROSS-BORDER
US KITA-36CN OBJECT E
5.48 kmpredicted miss distance
Not re-confirmedLast re-confirmed by the screening 17 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 22 Sep 16:15 UTC, still put the two within 10 km of each other (4.58 km).
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 4.60 km at 23 Sep 00:06 UTC.
Predicted closest approach
2026-09-23 00:06 UTC
Relative speed
14.90 km/s
Altitude
598 km
Last confirmed
22 Sep 06:45 UTC
Track KITA-36 →Track OBJECT E →All approaches →
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US KITA-36 and CN OBJECT E were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.48 km at 2026-09-23 00:06 UTC, at a relative speed of 14.90 km/s. Last re-confirmed by the screening 17 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 22 Sep 16:15 UTC, still put the two within 10 km of each other (4.58 km). Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 4.60 km at 23 Sep 00:06 UTC. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations. 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
KITA-36Payload
NORAD 69909
CountryUS
Launched2026-07-07
OrbitLEO · 586 × 596 km
COSPAR2026-156AS
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
OBJECT EPayload
NORAD 100462
CountryPRC
Launched2026-08-17
OrbitLEO · 477 × 630 km
COSPAR2026-188E
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 598 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 598 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 · KITA-36 ⟷ OBJECT E
2026-11-13 01:57517 m Live forecast14.94 km/s587 kmView →
2026-09-23 00:065.48 km Not re-confirmed · after: 4.60 km14.90 km/s598 kmShown above

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
10 Nov 21:04 UTC4.60 km Best estimate23 Sep 00:06 UTC23 Sep 04:00 UTCBest estimate
10 Nov 21:04 UTC4.58 km Within 10 km23 Sep 00:06 UTC22 Sep 16:15 UTCRe-check
22 Sep 06:45 UTC5.48 km Forecast23 Sep 00:06 UTC—Earlier record

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
461 m11-07 10:48 UTC
SHIYAN 30 01KITA-36
1.20 km11-11 13:34 UTC
PTS-1KITA-36
1.46 km11-11 06:59 UTC
COSMOS 2151OBJECT E

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 →