Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2304 ⟷ COSMOS 1695
medium · PROXIMITY
5.65 kmpredicted miss distance
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 9 min before the pass.
Predicted closest approach
2026-10-20 19:21 UTC
Relative speed
6.18 km/s
Altitude
Last confirmed
20 Oct 19:12 UTC
Share 𝕏 R

RU COSMOS 2304 and RU COSMOS 1695 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.65 km at 2026-10-20 19:21 UTC, at a relative speed of 6.18 km/s. Final forecast, made 9 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 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
NORAD 23446
CountryCIS
Launched1994-12-26
COSPAR1994-086F
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 16143
CountryCIS
Launched1985-10-09
COSPAR1985-094F
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1406 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1406 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

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · COSMOS 2304 ⟷ COSMOS 1695
2026-10-20 19:215.65 km Final forecast6.18 km/s1,406 kmShown above
2026-10-20 18:242.21 km Final forecast6.17 km/s1,419 kmView →

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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
20 Oct 12:32 UTC5.65 km Forecast20 Oct 19:21 UTC20 Oct 03:44 UTCRe-check
20 Oct 12:13 UTC5.62 km Forecast20 Oct 19:21 UTC19 Oct 20:13 UTCRe-check

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.34 km10-21 11:30 UTC
COSMOS 2252COSMOS 2304
5.08 km10-18 21:53 UTC
COSMOS 2304COSMOS 1293
5.77 km10-20 20:16 UTC
COSMOS 2252COSMOS 1695

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 2304 ⟷ COSMOS 1695: 5.65 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/16143-23446 (accessed 2026-10-22).