Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›WGS F4 (USA 233) ⟷ STTW-4
HighCross-border
On permanent record
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 12 Nov 09:43 UTC.
Closest approach13 Nov 202601:39 UTC
Drift speed753 m/s2,712 km/h, seen from STTW-4
Altitude35,789 kmnear the geostationary belt
Separation now—live

US WGS F4 (USA 233) and CN STTW-4 are predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.22 km at 2026-11-13 01:39 UTC, drifting past at about 753 m/s (2,712 km/h) as seen from STTW-4. Confirmed by the latest screening, 12 Nov 09:43 UTC. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations. 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 38070
CountryUS
Launched2012-01-20
COSPAR2012-003A
Maneuver capableUnknown
STTW-4Payload
NORAD 20473
CountryPRC
Launched1990-02-04
COSPAR1990-011A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
GEO BELT 35,786 KMTHIS PASS · 35,789 KMLEOMEOGEO

This pass happens near the geostationary belt, where satellites hold fixed longitude slots and relative speeds are low. Close approaches here are usually slow drifts rather than crossing passes. About GEO →

History Between This Pair

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · WGS F4 (USA 233) ⟷ STTW-4
2026-11-13 01:394.22 km Live forecast0.75 km/s35,789 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
12 Nov 09:12 UTC4.22 km Forecast13 Nov 01:39 UTC12 Nov 04:47 UTCRe-check
12 Nov 01:58 UTC5.23 km Forecast13 Nov 01:39 UTC11 Nov 14:38 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
8.28 km11-11 16:00 UTC
WGS F4 (USA 233)SL-12 R/B(2)

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 →

✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.