Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2346 ⟷ SDA-NG-T1TL-405
HighCross-border
On permanent record
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 4 Nov 08:45 UTC.
Closest approach4 Nov 202614:55 UTC
Relative speed7.77 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude946 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

RU COSMOS 2346 and US SDA-NG-T1TL-405 are predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.50 km at 2026-11-04 14:55 UTC, at a relative speed of 7.77 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 4 Nov 08:45 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 24953
CountryCIS
Launched1997-09-23
COSPAR1997-052A
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 100987
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-10
COSPAR2026-231E
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 946 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 946 km this pass sits inside the most congested band in low Earth orbit, home to the debris left by the 2007 ASAT test and the 2009 collision. 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 · COSMOS 2346 ⟷ SDA-NG-T1TL-405
2026-11-04 14:554.50 km Live forecast7.77 km/s946 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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 20:29 UTC4.50 km Forecast4 Nov 14:55 UTC3 Nov 14:08 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 17:45 UTC4.43 km Forecast4 Nov 14:55 UTC2 Nov 20:07 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 17:26 UTC8.42 km Forecast4 Nov 14:55 UTC2 Nov 20:07 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.74 km11-03 09:25 UTC
COSMOS 2346COSMOS 1275 DEB
2.79 km11-02 08:28 UTC
SDA-NG-T1TL-405THOR ABLESTAR DEB
3.02 km10-28 20:03 UTC
SDA-NG-T1TL-405FENGYUN 1C DEB

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 →

✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.