Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 ⟷ ELEAF-01
CriticalProximity
United StatesPROJECT SUNCATCHER M1NORAD 100902 · launched Oct 2026Payload
656mPredicted miss distance
JapanELEAF-01NORAD 100911 · launched Oct 2026Payload
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 7 min before the pass.
Closest approach12 Nov 202612:13 UTC
Drift speed2.1 m/s8 km/h, seen from ELEAF-01
Altitude506 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed12 Nov12:07 UTC · final forecast
Track PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1Track ELEAF-01All approaches
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US PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 and JP ELEAF-01 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 656 m at 2026-11-12 12:13 UTC, drifting past at about 2.1 m/s (8 km/h) as seen from ELEAF-01. Final forecast, made 7 min before the pass. 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
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1Payload
NORAD 100902
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
OrbitLEO · 513 × 515 km
COSPAR2026-227V
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
ELEAF-01Payload
NORAD 100911
CountryJPN
Launched2026-10-01
OrbitLEO · 513 × 514 km
COSPAR2026-227AE
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 506 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 506 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

6 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 ⟷ ELEAF-01
2026-11-12 14:279.68 km Final forecast0.01 km/s520 kmView →
2026-11-12 13:415.22 km Final forecast0.01 km/s510 kmView →
2026-11-12 12:474.34 km Final forecast0.00 km/s519 kmView →
2026-11-12 12:13656 m Final forecast0.00 km/s506 kmShown above
2026-11-12 11:29535 m Final forecast0.00 km/s522 kmView →
2026-11-12 10:004.64 km Final forecast0.01 km/s522 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
12 Nov 09:12 UTC656 m Forecast12 Nov 12:13 UTC12 Nov 04:47 UTCRe-check
12 Nov 04:18 UTC716 m Forecast12 Nov 12:13 UTC11 Nov 22:47 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 22:18 UTC731 m Forecast12 Nov 12:13 UTC11 Nov 18:45 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 17:37 UTC853 m Forecast12 Nov 12:12 UTC11 Nov 12:47 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 17:17 UTC998 m Forecast12 Nov 12:12 UTC11 Nov 06:48 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.36 km11-07 05:18 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1DS-EO
2.36 km11-07 01:20 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1DS-EO
2.92 km11-12 07:37 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1HOTSAT-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 →