Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ METEOR 2-5 DEB
HighCross-border
United StatesUSA 32 DEBNORAD 101048 · launched Sep 1988Military debris
2.20kmPredicted miss distance
RussiaMETEOR 2-5 DEBNORAD 39603 · launched Oct 1979Debris
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 11 Nov 08:07 UTC.
Closest approach12 Nov 202601:22 UTC
Relative speed1.94 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude786 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live
Track USA 32 DEBTrack METEOR 2-5 DEBAll approaches
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US USA 32 DEB and RU METEOR 2-5 DEB are predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.20 km at 2026-11-12 01:22 UTC, at a relative speed of 1.94 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 11 Nov 08:07 UTC. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations. 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 101048
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
OrbitLEO · 768 × 788 km
COSPAR1988-078U
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
METEOR 2-5 DEBDebris
NORAD 39603
CountryCIS
Launched1979-10-31
OrbitLEO · 770 × 780 km
COSPAR1979-095CE
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 · 786 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 786 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 ⟷ METEOR 2-5 DEB
2026-11-12 01:222.20 km Live forecast1.94 km/s786 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
11 Nov 01:46 UTC2.20 km Forecast12 Nov 01:22 UTC9 Nov 21:57 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 01:26 UTC2.41 km Forecast12 Nov 01:22 UTC9 Nov 21:57 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.08 km11-06 16:27 UTC
USA 32 DEBIRIDIUM 120
2.13 km11-06 18:07 UTC
USA 32 DEBIRIDIUM 120
2.35 km11-05 07:55 UTC
USA 32 DEBDELTA 1 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 →