Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ NOAA 16 DEB
MediumProximity
United StatesUSA 32 DEBNORAD 101033 · launched Sep 1988Military debris
6.72kmPredicted miss distance
United StatesNOAA 16 DEBNORAD 41516 · launched Sep 2000Debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach22 Oct 202606:46 UTC
Relative speed2.53 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude784 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed22 Oct06:44 UTC · final forecast
Track USA 32 DEBTrack NOAA 16 DEBAll approaches
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US USA 32 DEB and US NOAA 16 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 6.72 km at 2026-10-22 06:46 UTC, at a relative speed of 2.53 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes 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 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
USA 32 DEBDebris
NORAD 101033
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
OrbitLEO · 744 × 792 km
COSPAR1988-078D
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
NOAA 16 DEBDebris
NORAD 41516
CountryUS
Launched2000-09-21
OrbitLEO · 759 × 779 km
COSPAR2000-055MQ
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 784 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 784 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

5 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · USA 32 DEB ⟷ NOAA 16 DEB
2026-10-23 02:004.46 km Live forecast2.42 km/s754 kmView →
2026-10-22 06:466.72 km Final forecast2.53 km/s784 kmShown above
2026-10-22 05:062.25 km Final forecast2.54 km/s784 kmView →
2026-10-22 03:254.46 km Final forecast2.55 km/s784 kmView →
2026-10-17 13:045.69 km Final forecast3.28 km/s782 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
22 Oct 02:04 UTC6.72 km Forecast22 Oct 06:46 UTC21 Oct 14:16 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 13:30 UTC7.69 km Forecast22 Oct 06:46 UTC21 Oct 00:54 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 07:12 UTC1.73 km Forecast22 Oct 06:46 UTC20 Oct 18:13 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 06:52 UTC2.89 km Forecast22 Oct 06:46 UTC20 Oct 18:13 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.65 km10-21 06:20 UTC
USA 32 DEBIRIDIUM 108
4.51 km10-22 10:48 UTC
USA 32 DEBHAIYANG 1D
5.21 km10-16 21:42 UTC
USA 32 DEBNOAA 16 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 ⟷ NOAA 16 DEB: 6.72 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/101033-41516 (accessed 2026-10-22).