Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN 2 ⟷ GAOFEN 12
HighProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
Closest approach27 Oct 202621:45 UTC
Relative speed13.95 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude622 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed27 Oct21:43 UTC · final forecast

CN YAOGAN 2 and CN GAOFEN 12 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.31 km at 2026-10-27 21:45 UTC, at a relative speed of 13.95 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes 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 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
YAOGAN 2Payload
NORAD 31490
CountryPRC
Launched2007-05-25
COSPAR2007-019A
Maneuver capableUnknown
GAOFEN 12Payload
NORAD 44819
CountryPRC
Launched2019-11-27
COSPAR2019-082A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 622 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 622 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 · YAOGAN 2 ⟷ GAOFEN 12
2026-10-27 21:452.31 km Final forecast13.95 km/s622 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
27 Oct 14:03 UTC2.31 km Forecast27 Oct 21:45 UTC27 Oct 06:39 UTCRe-check
27 Oct 13:43 UTC4.20 km Forecast27 Oct 21:45 UTC27 Oct 06:39 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.35 km10-27 18:23 UTC
YAOGAN 2CZ-4B DEB
2.61 km10-25 14:20 UTC
YAOGAN 2YAOGAN 30
2.81 km10-31 11:40 UTC
YAOGAN 2SL-14 R/B

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 — “YAOGAN 2 ⟷ GAOFEN 12: 2.31 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/31490-44819 (accessed 2026-10-31).