Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-50 02 DEB ⟷ COSMOS 1579 COOLANT
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ChinaYAOGAN-50 02 DEBNORAD 100606 · launched Mar 2026Military debris
2.56kmPredicted miss distance
RussiaCOSMOS 1579 COOLANTNORAD 26517 · launched Jun 1984Military debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 5 min before the pass.
Closest approach9 Nov 202617:39 UTC
Relative speed11.30 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude929 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed9 Nov17:34 UTC · final forecast
Track YAOGAN-50 02 DEBTrack COSMOS 1579 COOLANTAll approaches
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CN YAOGAN-50 02 DEB and RU COSMOS 1579 COOLANT were predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.56 km at 2026-11-09 17:39 UTC, at a relative speed of 11.30 km/s. Final forecast, made 5 min before the pass. 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 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 100606
CountryPRC
Launched2026-03-15
OrbitLEO · 881 × 961 km
COSPAR2026-051AW
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
COSMOS 1579 COOLANTDebris
NORAD 26517
CountryCIS
Launched1984-06-29
OrbitLEO · 883 × 966 km
COSPAR1984-069J
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 · 929 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 929 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 ⟷ COSMOS 1579 COOLANT
2026-11-09 17:392.56 km Final forecast11.30 km/s929 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
9 Nov 12:34 UTC2.56 km Forecast9 Nov 17:39 UTC8 Nov 19:50 UTCRe-check
9 Nov 12:15 UTC3.67 km Forecast9 Nov 17:39 UTC8 Nov 19:50 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.11 km11-14 02:41 UTC
YAOGAN-50COSMOS 1579 COOLANT
1.55 km11-06 23:15 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBYAOGAN-50 02 DEB
3.63 km11-06 08:50 UTC
YAOGAN-50 02 DEBSWOT

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 →