Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ IRIDIUM 42
HighProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 12 min before the pass.
Closest approach10 Nov 202600:04 UTC
Drift speed456 m/s1,643 km/h, seen from IRIDIUM 42
Altitude777 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed9 Nov23:51 UTC · final forecast

US USA 32 DEB and US IRIDIUM 42 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.13 km at 2026-11-10 00:04 UTC, drifting past at about 456 m/s (1,643 km/h) as seen from IRIDIUM 42. Final forecast, made 12 min 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 mattersOne side of this pass cannot maneuver, so any avoidance decision rests with the other operator. Screening continues as new element sets arrive.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
NORAD 101034
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
COSPAR1988-078E
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
IRIDIUM 42Payload
NORAD 25077
CountryUS
Launched1997-12-08
COSPAR1997-077A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 777 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 777 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

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · USA 32 DEB ⟷ IRIDIUM 42
2026-11-10 00:541.57 km Final forecast0.46 km/s761 kmView →
2026-11-10 00:044.13 km Final forecast0.46 km/s777 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
9 Nov 21:51 UTC4.13 km Forecast10 Nov 00:04 UTC9 Nov 12:40 UTCRe-check
9 Nov 11:35 UTC4.90 km Forecast10 Nov 00:04 UTC9 Nov 04:19 UTCRe-check
9 Nov 00:12 UTC4.68 km Forecast10 Nov 00:04 UTC7 Nov 22:13 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.45 km11-05 14:43 UTC
USA 32 DEBCBERS 2
1.47 km11-05 17:13 UTC
USA 32 DEBCBERS 2
1.60 km11-07 13:28 UTC
USA 32 DEBCZ-6A 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 →