Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 970 DEB ⟷ COSMOS 1579 COOLANT
MediumProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 16 min before the pass.
Closest approach27 Oct 202607:19 UTC
Relative speed12.77 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude920 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed27 Oct07:04 UTC · final forecast

RU COSMOS 970 DEB and RU COSMOS 1579 COOLANT were predicted to reach a closest approach of 7.36 km at 2026-10-27 07:19 UTC, at a relative speed of 12.77 km/s. Final forecast, made 16 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 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 64996
CountryCIS
Launched1977-12-21
COSPAR1977-121DH
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →
NORAD 26513
CountryCIS
OperatorVMF
LaunchedFri Jun 29 1
Maneuver capableNo
Uncontrolled debris fragment tracked by the public catalogue. About space debris →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 920 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 920 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 970 DEB ⟷ COSMOS 1579 COOLANT
2026-10-27 07:197.36 km Final forecast12.77 km/s920 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
26 Oct 17:25 UTC7.36 km Forecast27 Oct 07:19 UTC23 Oct 19:55 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 17:19 UTC8.34 km Forecast27 Oct 07:19 UTC23 Oct 19:55 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
5.16 km10-27 19:14 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBSL-8 R/B
5.50 km11-02 19:42 UTC
COSMOS 2463COSMOS 970 DEB
7.16 km10-28 12:51 UTC
COSMOS 970 DEBCOSMOS 1375 DEB

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 970 DEB ⟷ COSMOS 1579 COOLANT: 7.36 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/26513-64996 (accessed 2026-11-02).