Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›USA 32 DEB ⟷ IRIDIUM 33 DEB
HighProximity
United StatesUSA 32 DEBNORAD 101049 · launched Sep 1988Military debris
3.75kmPredicted miss distance
United StatesIRIDIUM 33 DEBNORAD 39781 · launched Sep 1997Debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 13 min before the pass.
Closest approach27 Oct 202605:57 UTC
Relative speed10.40 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude841 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed27 Oct05:44 UTC · final forecast
Track USA 32 DEBTrack IRIDIUM 33 DEBAll approaches
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US USA 32 DEB and US IRIDIUM 33 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 3.75 km at 2026-10-27 05:57 UTC, at a relative speed of 10.40 km/s. Final forecast, made 13 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 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 101049
CountryUS
Launched1988-09-05
OrbitLEO · 767 × 866 km
COSPAR1988-078V
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
IRIDIUM 33 DEBDebris
NORAD 39781
CountryUS
OperatorIRIDS
LaunchedSun Sep 14 1
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 · 841 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 841 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 ⟷ IRIDIUM 33 DEB
2026-10-27 05:573.75 km Final forecast10.40 km/s841 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 16:41 UTC3.75 km Forecast27 Oct 05:57 UTC26 Oct 05:52 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 09:23 UTC4.04 km Forecast27 Oct 05:57 UTC25 Oct 18:03 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 09:03 UTC9.80 km Forecast27 Oct 05:57 UTC25 Oct 18:03 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
983 m10-26 07:12 UTC
USA 32 DEBOPS 3367 A
1.33 km10-26 21:13 UTC
USA 32 DEBTHORAD AGENA D DEB
3.36 km10-24 02:58 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 ⟷ IRIDIUM 33 DEB: 3.75 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/101049-39781 (accessed 2026-10-29).