Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2162 ⟷ COSMOS 1878
MediumProximity
RussiaCOSMOS 2162NORAD 21733 · launched Sep 1991Military payload
6.87kmPredicted miss distance
RussiaCOSMOS 1878NORAD 18337 · launched Sep 1987Military payload
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach9 Nov 202608:32 UTC
Relative speed5.70 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude1,413 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed9 Nov08:32 UTC · final forecast
Track COSMOS 2162Track COSMOS 1878All approaches
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RU COSMOS 2162 and RU COSMOS 1878 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 6.87 km at 2026-11-09 08:32 UTC, at a relative speed of 5.70 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes 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
COSMOS 2162Payload
NORAD 21733
CountryCIS
Launched1991-09-28
OrbitLEO · 1,408 × 1,417 km
COSPAR1991-068F
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
COSMOS 1878Payload
NORAD 18337
CountryCIS
Launched1987-09-07
OrbitLEO · 1,403 × 1,406 km
COSPAR1987-074D
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1413 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1413 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

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · COSMOS 2162 ⟷ COSMOS 1878
2026-11-09 08:326.87 km Final forecast5.70 km/s1,413 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
8 Nov 12:32 UTC6.87 km Forecast9 Nov 08:32 UTC8 Nov 07:12 UTCRe-check
8 Nov 10:28 UTC6.89 km Forecast9 Nov 08:32 UTC7 Nov 19:08 UTCRe-check
8 Nov 10:08 UTC8.27 km Forecast9 Nov 08:32 UTC7 Nov 19:08 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.74 km11-09 07:31 UTC
COSMOS 2162COSMOS 1473
4.35 km11-08 09:01 UTC
COSMOS 2162OPS 2644
6.46 km11-08 04:15 UTC
COSMOS 2162OPS 2644

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 →