Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A) ⟷ FLOCK 4H 3
HighCross-border
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 2 Nov 07:28 UTC.
Closest approach2 Nov 202610:23 UTC
Relative speed5.63 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude512 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

CN SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A) and US FLOCK 4H 3 are predicted to reach a closest approach of 9.36 km at 2026-11-02 10:23 UTC, at a relative speed of 5.63 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 2 Nov 07:28 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 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 28413
CountryPRC
Launched2004-09-08
COSPAR2004-035A
Maneuver capableUnknown
FLOCK 4H 3Payload
NORAD 66706
CountryUS
Launched2025-11-28
COSPAR2025-276AS
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 512 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 512 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 · SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A) ⟷ FLOCK 4H 3
2026-11-02 11:114.61 km Live forecast5.65 km/s496 kmView →
2026-11-02 10:239.36 km Live forecast5.63 km/s512 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
2 Nov 03:27 UTC9.36 km Forecast2 Nov 10:23 UTC1 Nov 11:05 UTCRe-check
1 Nov 19:27 UTC9.12 km Forecast2 Nov 10:23 UTC1 Nov 06:44 UTCRe-check
1 Nov 19:07 UTC9.38 km Forecast2 Nov 10:23 UTC1 Nov 06:44 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.95 km10-31 14:56 UTC
SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A)CO3D1
2.20 km10-31 13:21 UTC
SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A)ZY 3 2
3.54 km11-01 01:59 UTC
SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A)LEMUR-2-VARUN

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 — “SHIJIAN 6 01A (SJ-6 01A) ⟷ FLOCK 4H 3: 9.36 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/28413-66706 (accessed 2026-11-02).