Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2169 ⟷ ISIS 2
HighProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach26 Oct 202601:47 UTC
Relative speed14.23 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude1,395 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed26 Oct01:43 UTC · final forecast

RU COSMOS 2169 and CA ISIS 2 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 3.69 km at 2026-10-26 01:47 UTC, at a relative speed of 14.23 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
NORAD 21783
CountryCIS
Launched1991-11-12
COSPAR1991-077E
Maneuver capableUnknown
ISIS 2Payload
NORAD 5104
CountryCA
Launched1971-04-01
COSPAR1971-024A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1395 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1395 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 2169 ⟷ ISIS 2
2026-10-26 01:473.69 km Final forecast14.23 km/s1,395 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
25 Oct 03:29 UTC3.69 km Forecast26 Oct 01:47 UTC24 Oct 00:25 UTCRe-check
25 Oct 03:09 UTC4.90 km Forecast26 Oct 01:47 UTC24 Oct 00:25 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.13 km10-24 08:30 UTC
COSMOS 2169COSMOS 1722
1.34 km10-26 05:20 UTC
COSMOS 2169COSMOS 1913
2.01 km10-26 08:11 UTC
COSMOS 2169COSMOS 1830

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 2169 ⟷ ISIS 2: 3.69 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/21783-5104 (accessed 2026-10-26).