Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-50 02 DEB ⟷ CZ-4 DEB
MediumProximity
ChinaYAOGAN-50 02 DEBNORAD 100604 · launched Mar 2026Military debris
5.04kmPredicted miss distance
ChinaCZ-4 DEBNORAD 20864 · launched Sep 1990Debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach13 Nov 202607:16 UTC
Relative speed7.26 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude820 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed13 Nov07:13 UTC · final forecast
Track YAOGAN-50 02 DEBTrack CZ-4 DEBAll approaches
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CN YAOGAN-50 02 DEB and CN CZ-4 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.04 km at 2026-11-13 07:16 UTC, at a relative speed of 7.26 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes 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 100604
CountryPRC
Launched2026-03-15
OrbitLEO · 782 × 986 km
COSPAR2026-051AU
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
CZ-4 DEBDebris
NORAD 20864
CountryPRC
Launched1990-09-03
OrbitLEO · 824 × 923 km
COSPAR1990-081AC
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 820 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 820 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 ⟷ CZ-4 DEB
2026-11-13 07:165.04 km Final forecast7.26 km/s820 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
12 Nov 19:13 UTC5.04 km Forecast13 Nov 07:16 UTC12 Nov 11:50 UTCRe-check
12 Nov 11:47 UTC5.05 km Forecast13 Nov 07:16 UTC12 Nov 03:23 UTCRe-check
12 Nov 11:28 UTC5.70 km Forecast13 Nov 07:16 UTC12 Nov 03:23 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.74 km11-14 12:34 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBLANDSAT 1 (ERTS 1)
4.15 km11-09 19:32 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBFENGYUN 1C DEB
4.66 km11-14 13:14 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBTHORAD AGENA D 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 →