Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-50 02 DEB ⟷ EPSILON R/B
HighProximity
ChinaYAOGAN-50 02 DEBNORAD 100565 · launched Mar 2026Military debris
3.61kmPredicted miss distance
JapanEPSILON R/BNORAD 39255 · launched Sep 2013Rocket body
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 13 min before the pass.
Closest approach6 Nov 202618:23 UTC
Relative speed13.98 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude965 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed6 Nov18:10 UTC · final forecast
Track YAOGAN-50 02 DEBTrack EPSILON R/BAll approaches
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CN YAOGAN-50 02 DEB and JP EPSILON R/B were predicted to reach a closest approach of 3.61 km at 2026-11-06 18:23 UTC, at a relative speed of 13.98 km/s. Final forecast, made 13 min before the pass. 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 mattersNeither object can maneuver: the miss distance will evolve only with natural orbital perturbations, so screening continues until the pass is over.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBDebris
NORAD 100565
CountryPRC
Launched2026-03-15
OrbitLEO · 894 × 974 km
COSPAR2026-051D
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
EPSILON R/BR/B
NORAD 39255
CountryJPN
Launched2013-09-14
OrbitLEO · 806 × 970 km
COSPAR2013-049C
Maneuver capableNo
Spent rocket stage: uncontrolled, tracked by the public catalogue.
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 965 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 965 km this pass sits inside the most congested band in low Earth orbit, home to the debris left by the 2007 ASAT test and the 2009 collision. 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

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · YAOGAN-50 02 DEB ⟷ EPSILON R/B
2026-11-06 18:233.61 km Final forecast13.98 km/s965 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
6 Nov 10:00 UTC3.61 km Forecast6 Nov 18:23 UTC5 Nov 19:19 UTCRe-check
6 Nov 09:41 UTC4.50 km Forecast6 Nov 18:23 UTC5 Nov 19:19 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.14 km11-07 07:02 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBCENTISPACE-2 S5
2.35 km11-05 02:53 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBCENTISPACE-2 S3
5.38 km11-06 17:10 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBSL-16 DEB

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 →