Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›ISS (ZARYA) ⟷ 3CAT-5/A (TYVAK-0161)
MediumProximity
On permanent record
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 4 Nov 00:00 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 12.2 km apart.
Closest approach4 Nov 202605:13 UTC
Relative speed7.79 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude424 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed3 Nov20:11 UTC · withdrawn

RU ISS (ZARYA) and SPN 3CAT-5/A (TYVAK-0161) were predicted to reach a closest approach of 8.43 km at 2026-11-04 05:13 UTC, at a relative speed of 7.79 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 4 Nov 00:00 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 12.2 km apart. The figure above is the forecast as it was published; the newer check is shown beside it, and nothing is overwritten. 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 25544
CountryCIS
Launched1998-11-20
COSPAR1998-067A
Maneuver capableYes
International Space Station, debris avoidance maneuvers tracked
NORAD 46292
CountrySPN
Launched2020-09-03
COSPAR2020-061W
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 424 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 424 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

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · ISS (ZARYA) ⟷ 3CAT-5/A (TYVAK-0161)
2026-11-04 05:138.43 km Withdrawn7.79 km/s424 kmShown above
2026-11-04 04:265.39 km Live forecast7.79 km/s412 kmView →

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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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 UTC12.23 km Withdrawn4 Nov 05:13 UTC4 Nov 00:00 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 20:11 UTC8.43 km Forecast4 Nov 05:13 UTC3 Nov 18:00 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
3.07 km11-04 13:32 UTC
ISS (ZARYA)NETSAT-2
3.49 km11-03 16:15 UTC
ISS (ZARYA)CZ-6A DEB
4.68 km11-02 15:52 UTC
ISS (ZARYA)R5-S2

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.