Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›WGS F4 (USA 233) ⟷ SL-12 R/B(2)
HighCross-border
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach11 Nov 202616:00 UTC
Drift speed692 m/s2,492 km/h, seen from SL-12 R/B(2)
Altitude35,784 kmnear the geostationary belt
Last confirmed11 Nov15:57 UTC · final forecast

US WGS F4 (USA 233) and RU SL-12 R/B(2) were predicted to reach a closest approach of 8.28 km at 2026-11-11 16:00 UTC, drifting past at about 692 m/s (2,492 km/h) as seen from SL-12 R/B(2). Final forecast, made minutes before the pass. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations. 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 mattersOne side of this pass cannot maneuver, so any avoidance decision rests with the other operator. Screening continues as new element sets arrive.

The Two Objects

Dossiers from the satellite directory
NORAD 38070
CountryUS
Launched2012-01-20
COSPAR2012-003A
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 27780
CountryCIS
Launched2003-04-24
COSPAR2003-015F
Maneuver capableNo
Spent rocket stage: uncontrolled, tracked by the public catalogue.

Where This Happens

Altitude context
GEO BELT 35,786 KMTHIS PASS · 35,784 KMLEOMEOGEO

This pass happens near the geostationary belt, where satellites hold fixed longitude slots and relative speeds are low. Close approaches here are usually slow drifts rather than crossing passes. About GEO →

History Between This Pair

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · WGS F4 (USA 233) ⟷ SL-12 R/B(2)
2026-11-11 16:008.28 km Final forecast0.69 km/s35,784 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
11 Nov 10:26 UTC8.28 km Forecast11 Nov 16:00 UTC11 Nov 05:45 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
4.22 km11-13 01:39 UTC
WGS F4 (USA 233)STTW-4

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 →