Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›W-SERIES 9 ⟷ TANAGER-2
CriticalProximity
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 21 Oct 12:34 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 26.3 km apart.
Closest approach22 Oct 202600:52 UTC
Drift speed1.3 m/s5 km/h, seen from TANAGER-2
Altitude523 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed21 Oct09:27 UTC · withdrawn

US W-SERIES 9 and US TANAGER-2 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 669 m at 2026-10-22 00:52 UTC, drifting past at about 1.3 m/s (5 km/h) as seen from TANAGER-2. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 21 Oct 12:34 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 26.3 km apart. The figure above is the forecast as it was published; the newer check is shown beside it, and nothing is overwritten. 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
W-SERIES 9Payload
NORAD 100884
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-227B
Maneuver capableUnknown
TANAGER-2Payload
NORAD 100886
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-227D
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 523 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 523 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

4 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · W-SERIES 9 ⟷ TANAGER-2
2026-10-23 16:56271 m Live forecast0.00 km/s520 kmView →
2026-10-22 12:20546 m Withdrawn0.00 km/s522 kmView →
2026-10-22 06:47512 m Withdrawn0.00 km/s508 kmView →
2026-10-22 00:52669 m Withdrawn0.00 km/s523 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
21 Oct 09:46 UTC14.64 km Withdrawn22 Oct 01:33 UTC21 Oct 03:46 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 03:52 UTC669 m Forecast22 Oct 00:52 UTC20 Oct 22:45 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
815 m10-22 19:16 UTC
TANAGER-2 4004OBJECT J
1.15 km10-21 13:57 UTC
W-SERIES 9OBJECT CR
1.18 km10-23 08:43 UTC
W-SERIES 9SIRION PATHFINDER-2

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 — “W-SERIES 9 ⟷ TANAGER-2: 669 m forecast, withdrawn”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/100884-100886 (accessed 2026-10-22).