Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 ⟷ TIANHUI 2-02A
HighCross-border
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 3 Nov 09:33 UTC.
Closest approach4 Nov 202607:17 UTC
Relative speed8.36 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude523 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

US PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 and CN TIANHUI 2-02A are predicted to reach a closest approach of 7.61 km at 2026-11-04 07:17 UTC, at a relative speed of 8.36 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 3 Nov 09:33 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 100902
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-227V
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 49071
CountryPRC
Launched2021-08-18
COSPAR2021-074A
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

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1 ⟷ TIANHUI 2-02A
2026-11-04 07:177.61 km Live forecast8.36 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
3 Nov 09:13 UTC7.61 km Forecast4 Nov 07:17 UTC3 Nov 00:44 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 07:49 UTC1.89 km Forecast4 Nov 07:17 UTC3 Nov 00:44 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 07:29 UTC3.77 km Forecast4 Nov 07:17 UTC3 Nov 00:44 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
756 m10-30 02:17 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1OBJECT CG
1.18 km10-30 03:53 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1OBJECT CG
1.22 km10-29 17:38 UTC
PROJECT SUNCATCHER M1OBJECT CG

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 →