Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›DRAGON GRACE 2 ⟷ TIANHUI 4B
HighCross-border
On permanent record
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 30 Oct 23:23 UTC.
Closest approach31 Oct 202620:15 UTC
Relative speed6.80 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude419 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

US DRAGON GRACE 2 and CN TIANHUI 4B are predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.68 km at 2026-10-31 20:15 UTC, at a relative speed of 6.80 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 30 Oct 23:23 UTC. 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 100882
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-226A
Maneuver capableUnknown
TIANHUI 4BPayload
NORAD 50573
CountryPRC
Launched2021-12-29
COSPAR2021-134B
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 419 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 419 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

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · DRAGON GRACE 2 ⟷ TIANHUI 4B
2026-10-31 20:152.68 km Live forecast6.80 km/s419 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
30 Oct 21:23 UTC2.68 km Forecast31 Oct 20:15 UTC30 Oct 14:10 UTCRe-check
30 Oct 21:09 UTC2.84 km Forecast31 Oct 20:15 UTC30 Oct 14:10 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.68 km10-31 20:15 UTC
PROGRESS MS-35TIANHUI 4B
2.68 km10-31 20:15 UTC
DRAGON CRS-35TIANHUI 4B
2.68 km10-31 20:15 UTC
SOYUZ MS-29TIANHUI 4B

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 — “DRAGON GRACE 2 ⟷ TIANHUI 4B: 2.68 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/100882-50573 (accessed 2026-10-30).
✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.