Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›TANAGER-2 ⟷ STARCATCHER-1
HighProximity
United StatesTANAGER-2NORAD 100886 · launched Oct 2026Payload
4.18kmPredicted miss distance
United StatesSTARCATCHER-1NORAD 100921 · launched Oct 2026Payload
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 15 min before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 3.29 km at 29 Oct 20:05 UTC.
Closest approach29 Oct 202619:46 UTC
Drift speed7.4 m/s27 km/h, seen from STARCATCHER-1
Altitude521 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed29 Oct19:31 UTC · final forecast
Track TANAGER-2Track STARCATCHER-1All approaches
Share

US TANAGER-2 and US STARCATCHER-1 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.18 km at 2026-10-29 19:46 UTC, drifting past at about 7.4 m/s (27 km/h) as seen from STARCATCHER-1. Final forecast, made 15 min before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 3.29 km at 29 Oct 20:05 UTC. 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
TANAGER-2Payload
NORAD 100886
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
OrbitLEO · 508 × 510 km
COSPAR2026-227D
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
STARCATCHER-1Payload
NORAD 100921
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
OrbitLEO · 511 × 516 km
COSPAR2026-227AQ
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 521 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 521 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

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · TANAGER-2 ⟷ STARCATCHER-1
2026-10-29 19:464.18 km Final forecast0.00 km/s521 kmShown above
2026-10-29 19:042.57 km Not re-confirmed0.00 km/s504 kmView →

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
2 Nov 15:35 UTC3.29 km Best estimate29 Oct 20:05 UTC29 Oct 23:19 UTCBest estimate
29 Oct 15:31 UTC4.18 km Forecast29 Oct 19:46 UTC29 Oct 11:24 UTCRe-check
29 Oct 09:31 UTC2.92 km Forecast29 Oct 20:02 UTC29 Oct 04:45 UTCRe-check
29 Oct 06:15 UTC2.80 km Forecast29 Oct 20:04 UTC29 Oct 01:04 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
702 m10-31 16:13 UTC
STARCATCHER-1FLOCK 4J-10
753 m11-01 04:41 UTC
STARCATCHER-1OBJECT CE
1.36 km11-04 05:22 UTC
W-SERIES 8STARCATCHER-1

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 →