Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ SCOUT A R/B
HighCross-border
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 4 Nov 21:52 UTC.
Closest approach5 Nov 202615:26 UTC
Relative speed5.24 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude1,070 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

RU COSMOS 970 DEB and US SCOUT A R/B are predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.77 km at 2026-11-05 15:26 UTC, at a relative speed of 5.24 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 4 Nov 21:52 UTC. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations, the kind of event closely watched for space-security implications. 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
NORAD 65001
CountryCIS
Launched1977-12-21
COSPAR1977-121DN
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
NORAD 2413
CountryUS
Launched1966-08-18
COSPAR1966-076B
Maneuver capableNo
Spent rocket stage: uncontrolled, tracked by the public catalogue.

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1070 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1070 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 970 DEB ⟷ SCOUT A R/B
2026-11-05 15:265.77 km Live forecast5.24 km/s1,070 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
4 Nov 17:58 UTC5.77 km Forecast5 Nov 15:26 UTC4 Nov 06:50 UTCRe-check
4 Nov 15:52 UTC5.79 km Forecast5 Nov 15:26 UTC3 Nov 18:24 UTCRe-check
4 Nov 15:32 UTC6.78 km Forecast5 Nov 15:26 UTC3 Nov 18:24 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.40 km10-31 01:21 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBTHOR ABLESTAR R/B
4.60 km11-05 15:04 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBHULIANWANG DIGUI-09
5.71 km11-02 01:35 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBGLOBALSTAR M104

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 →