Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ SL-8 DEB
CriticalProximity
RussiaCOSMOS 970 DEBNORAD 64995 · launched Dec 1977Military debris
374mPredicted miss distance
RussiaSL-8 DEBNORAD 11752 · launched Apr 1980Debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 19 min before the pass.
Closest approach28 Oct 202606:22 UTC
Relative speed13.18 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude973 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed28 Oct06:03 UTC · final forecast
Track COSMOS 970 DEBTrack SL-8 DEBAll approaches
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RU COSMOS 970 DEB and RU SL-8 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 374 m at 2026-10-28 06:22 UTC, at a relative speed of 13.18 km/s. Final forecast, made 19 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
COSMOS 970 DEBDebris
NORAD 64995
CountryCIS
Launched1977-12-21
OrbitLEO · 950 × 1,127 km
COSPAR1977-121DG
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
SL-8 DEBDebris
NORAD 11752
CountryCIS
Launched1980-04-03
OrbitLEO · 960 × 1,001 km
COSPAR1980-026C
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 · 973 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 973 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 · COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ SL-8 DEB
2026-10-28 06:22374 m Final forecast13.18 km/s973 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 13:00 UTC374 m Forecast28 Oct 06:22 UTC27 Oct 04:17 UTCRe-check
27 Oct 09:47 UTC396 m Forecast28 Oct 06:22 UTC26 Oct 19:14 UTCRe-check
27 Oct 09:28 UTC9.19 km Forecast28 Oct 06:22 UTC26 Oct 19:14 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.75 km10-27 21:27 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBCOSMOS 887
3.29 km10-27 16:22 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBCOSMOS 1275 DEB
5.79 km10-24 11:31 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBQIANFAN-4

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 — “COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ SL-8 DEB: 374 m predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/11752-64995 (accessed 2026-10-30).