Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ NOAA 16 DEB
HighProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 2.67 km at 25 Oct 00:33 UTC.
Closest approach25 Oct 202600:33 UTC
Relative speed9.63 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude771 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed25 Oct00:29 UTC · final forecast

US USA 32 DEB and US NOAA 16 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.27 km at 2026-10-25 00:33 UTC, at a relative speed of 9.63 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 2.67 km at 25 Oct 00:33 UTC. 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 101048
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
COSPAR1988-078U
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
NORAD 41412
CountryUS
Launched2000-09-21
COSPAR2000-055KR
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 · 771 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 771 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 ⟷ NOAA 16 DEB
2026-10-25 00:332.27 km Final forecast9.63 km/s771 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
27 Oct 16:23 UTC2.67 km Best estimate25 Oct 00:33 UTC25 Oct 18:35 UTCBest estimate
24 Oct 12:29 UTC2.27 km Forecast25 Oct 00:33 UTC24 Oct 00:38 UTCRe-check
24 Oct 12:09 UTC1.63 km Forecast25 Oct 00:33 UTC23 Oct 19:31 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.36 km10-25 18:01 UTC
USA 32 DEBCOSMOS 1275 DEB
1.49 km10-24 09:28 UTC
USA 32 DEBERS 1
2.09 km10-24 10:57 UTC
USA 32 DEBOBJECT AX

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: 2.27 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/101048-41412 (accessed 2026-10-30).