Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2181 ⟷ NADEZHDA 3
HighProximity
RussiaCOSMOS 2181NORAD 21902 · launched Mar 1992Military payload
4.07kmPredicted miss distance
RussiaNADEZHDA 3NORAD 21152 · launched Mar 1991Payload
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 17 min before the pass.
Closest approach4 Nov 202604:41 UTC
Drift speed603 m/s2,169 km/h, seen from NADEZHDA 3
Altitude1,015 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed4 Nov04:24 UTC · final forecast
Track COSMOS 2181Track NADEZHDA 3All approaches
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RU COSMOS 2181 and RU NADEZHDA 3 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.07 km at 2026-11-04 04:41 UTC, drifting past at about 603 m/s (2,169 km/h) as seen from NADEZHDA 3. Final forecast, made 17 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
COSMOS 2181Payload
NORAD 21902
CountryCIS
Launched1992-03-09
OrbitLEO · 968 × 1,012 km
COSPAR1992-012A
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
NADEZHDA 3Payload
NORAD 21152
CountryCIS
Launched1991-03-12
OrbitLEO · 952 × 1,015 km
COSPAR1991-019A
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1015 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1015 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 2181 ⟷ NADEZHDA 3
2026-11-04 04:414.07 km Final forecast0.60 km/s1,015 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
3 Nov 20:29 UTC4.07 km Forecast4 Nov 04:41 UTC3 Nov 10:45 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 09:13 UTC4.05 km Forecast4 Nov 04:41 UTC2 Nov 20:13 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 04:49 UTC4.08 km Forecast4 Nov 04:41 UTC2 Nov 12:02 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
3.61 km10-30 22:17 UTC
COSMOS 2016COSMOS 2181
3.62 km10-28 17:05 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBNADEZHDA 3
3.79 km11-02 12:40 UTC
COSMOS 2181COSMOS 1709

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 →