Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ SL-16 DEB
HighProximity
RussiaCOSMOS 970 DEBNORAD 65007 · launched Dec 1977Military debris
4.55kmPredicted miss distance
RussiaSL-16 DEBNORAD 16389 · launched Oct 1985Debris
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 14 min before the pass.
Closest approach12 Nov 202604:52 UTC
Relative speed12.84 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude936 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed12 Nov04:38 UTC · final forecast
Track COSMOS 970 DEBTrack SL-16 DEBAll approaches
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RU COSMOS 970 DEB and RU SL-16 DEB were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.55 km at 2026-11-12 04:52 UTC, at a relative speed of 12.84 km/s. Final forecast, made 14 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 65007
CountryCIS
Launched1977-12-21
OrbitLEO · 910 × 1,090 km
COSPAR1977-121DU
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
Profile →Globe →
SL-16 DEBDebris
NORAD 16389
CountryCIS
Launched1985-10-22
OrbitLEO · 836 × 1,115 km
COSPAR1985-097C
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 · 936 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 936 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-16 DEB
2026-11-12 04:524.55 km Final forecast12.84 km/s936 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
11 Nov 22:18 UTC4.55 km Forecast12 Nov 04:52 UTC11 Nov 04:14 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 10:26 UTC4.57 km Forecast12 Nov 04:52 UTC10 Nov 17:47 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 05:26 UTC4.97 km Forecast12 Nov 04:52 UTC10 Nov 05:34 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 05:06 UTC5.86 km Forecast12 Nov 04:52 UTC10 Nov 05:34 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
3.60 km11-16 08:50 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBOBJECT C
8.55 km11-11 06:15 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBSL-8 R/B
8.63 km11-13 23:47 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBTHOR ABLESTAR 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 →