Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›TANAGER-2 ⟷ HOTSAT-3
HighProximity
Not re-confirmedLast re-confirmed by the screening 7 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 29 Oct 04:45 UTC, put them 10.1 km apart. The most recent pass the screening confirmed up to its time: 4.17 km on 29 Oct 13:29 UTC.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 10.6 km apart.
Closest approach29 Oct 202612:27 UTC
Drift speed4.1 m/s15 km/h, seen from HOTSAT-3
Altitude507 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed29 Oct05:55 UTC · not re-confirmed

US TANAGER-2 and UK HOTSAT-3 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.78 km at 2026-10-29 12:27 UTC, drifting past at about 4.1 m/s (15 km/h) as seen from HOTSAT-3. Last re-confirmed by the screening 7 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 29 Oct 04:45 UTC, put them 10.1 km apart. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 10.6 km apart. 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
COSPAR2026-227D
Maneuver capableUnknown
HOTSAT-3Payload
NORAD 100924
CountryUK
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-227AT
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 507 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 507 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 ⟷ HOTSAT-3
2026-10-29 13:294.17 km Final forecast0.00 km/s521 kmView →
2026-10-29 12:272.78 km Not re-confirmed0.00 km/s507 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
2 Nov 10:54 UTC10.61 km Best estimate29 Oct 13:08 UTC29 Oct 15:25 UTCBest estimate
29 Oct 00:15 UTC2.78 km Forecast29 Oct 12:27 UTC28 Oct 18:46 UTCRe-check
28 Oct 18:15 UTC3.30 km Forecast29 Oct 12:21 UTC28 Oct 12:34 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.35 km11-03 11:37 UTC
W-SERIES 8HOTSAT-3
2.41 km10-29 03:07 UTC
TANAGER-2OBJECT CE
2.57 km10-29 19:04 UTC
TANAGER-2STARCATCHER-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 →