Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›SPRITE ⟷ ASNARO
HighProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 14 min before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 3.96 km at 26 Oct 03:36 UTC.
Closest approach26 Oct 202603:36 UTC
Drift speed446 m/s1,606 km/h, seen from ASNARO
Altitude498 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed26 Oct03:23 UTC · final forecast

US SPRITE and JP ASNARO were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.97 km at 2026-10-26 03:36 UTC, drifting past at about 446 m/s (1,606 km/h) as seen from ASNARO. Final forecast, made 14 min before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 3.96 km at 26 Oct 03:36 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
SPRITEPayload
NORAD 100954
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-01
COSPAR2026-227BY
Maneuver capableUnknown
ASNAROPayload
NORAD 40298
CountryJPN
Launched2014-11-06
COSPAR2014-070A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 498 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 498 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 · SPRITE ⟷ ASNARO
2026-10-26 03:364.97 km Final forecast0.45 km/s498 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
29 Oct 03:15 UTC3.96 km Best estimate26 Oct 03:36 UTC26 Oct 06:22 UTCBest estimate
25 Oct 03:49 UTC4.97 km Forecast26 Oct 03:36 UTC24 Oct 06:57 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.51 km10-27 09:38 UTC
SPRITECZ-6A DEB
3.56 km10-30 08:01 UTC
SPRITEOBJECT E
4.02 km10-24 04:09 UTC
SPRITEICEYE-X61

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 — “SPRITE ⟷ ASNARO: 4.97 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/100954-40298 (accessed 2026-10-29).