Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›HAWK 16C ⟷ RANGE A
MediumProximity
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 28 Oct 20:16 UTC.
Closest approach29 Oct 202604:44 UTC
Relative speed15.01 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude522 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

US HAWK 16C and US RANGE A are predicted to reach a closest approach of 6.44 km at 2026-10-29 04:44 UTC, at a relative speed of 15.01 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 28 Oct 20:16 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 mattersBoth objects are catalogued as payloads. Screening continues as new element sets arrive; operators act on their own conjunction data.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
HAWK 16CPayload
NORAD 101146
CountryUS
Launched2026-10-23
COSPAR2026-239C
Maneuver capableUnknown
RANGE APayload
NORAD 43773
CountryUS
Launched2018-12-03
COSPAR2018-099R
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 522 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 522 km this pass sits in low Earth orbit. 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

3 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · HAWK 16C ⟷ RANGE A
2026-10-29 06:193.07 km Live forecast15.01 km/s522 kmView →
2026-10-29 05:325.75 km Live forecast15.01 km/s524 kmView →
2026-10-29 04:446.44 km Live forecast15.01 km/s522 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
28 Oct 11:39 UTC6.44 km Forecast29 Oct 04:44 UTC27 Oct 21:40 UTCRe-check
28 Oct 11:20 UTC8.49 km Forecast29 Oct 04:44 UTC27 Oct 01:03 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.70 km10-28 05:36 UTC
HAWK 16COBJECT F
1.70 km10-26 19:38 UTC
HAWK 16CSKYSAT-A
2.96 km10-29 00:37 UTC
HAWK 16COBJECT J

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 — “HAWK 16C ⟷ RANGE A: 6.44 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/101146-43773 (accessed 2026-10-28).