Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ FENGYUN 1C DEB
HighCross-border
Not re-confirmedLast re-confirmed by the screening 20 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 25 Oct 18:10 UTC, put them 10.5 km apart.
Closest approach27 Oct 202605:05 UTC
Relative speed2.99 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude793 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed26 Oct08:43 UTC · not re-confirmed

US USA 32 DEB and CN FENGYUN 1C DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 3.26 km at 2026-10-27 05:05 UTC, at a relative speed of 2.99 km/s. Last re-confirmed by the screening 20 h before the pass. Newer orbit data, from 25 Oct 18:10 UTC, put them 10.5 km apart. 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 mattersNeither object can maneuver: the miss distance will evolve only with natural orbital perturbations, so screening continues until the pass is over.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
NORAD 101032
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
COSPAR1988-078C
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
NORAD 45526
CountryPRC
Launched1999-05-10
COSPAR1999-025EYR
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 793 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 793 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 · USA 32 DEB ⟷ FENGYUN 1C DEB
2026-10-27 05:053.26 km Not re-confirmed2.99 km/s793 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
26 Oct 05:43 UTC3.26 km Forecast27 Oct 05:05 UTC24 Oct 00:18 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 05:23 UTC4.20 km Forecast27 Oct 05:05 UTC24 Oct 00:18 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.75 km10-26 01:32 UTC
USA 32 DEBTHORAD AGENA D DEB
3.46 km10-23 21:20 UTC
USA 32 DEBCZ-6A DEB
3.64 km10-28 22:18 UTC
USA 32 DEBFENGYUN 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 →

Cite this encounter: Orbital Radar — “USA 32 DEB ⟷ FENGYUN 1C DEB: 3.26 km forecast, not re-confirmed”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/101032-45526 (accessed 2026-10-29).