Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN 15 ⟷ JASON DEB
HighCross-border
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 24 Oct 01:10 UTC.
Closest approach24 Oct 202602:14 UTC
Relative speed7.36 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude1,185 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

CN YAOGAN 15 and US JASON DEB are predicted to reach a closest approach of 7.17 km at 2026-10-24 02:14 UTC, at a relative speed of 7.36 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 24 Oct 01:10 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 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
YAOGAN 15Payload
NORAD 38354
CountryPRC
Launched2012-05-29
COSPAR2012-029A
Maneuver capableUnknown
JASON DEBDebris
NORAD 35414
CountryUS
Launched2001-12-07
COSPAR2001-055F
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 · 1185 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1185 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

3 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · YAOGAN 15 ⟷ JASON DEB
2026-10-24 06:488.03 km Live forecast7.29 km/s1,201 kmView →
2026-10-24 04:048.04 km Live forecast7.33 km/s1,185 kmView →
2026-10-24 02:147.17 km Live forecast7.36 km/s1,185 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
24 Oct 00:29 UTC7.17 km Forecast24 Oct 02:14 UTC23 Oct 21:03 UTCRe-check
23 Oct 18:29 UTC7.96 km Forecast24 Oct 02:14 UTC23 Oct 06:29 UTCRe-check
23 Oct 11:14 UTC7.96 km Forecast24 Oct 02:14 UTC23 Oct 04:40 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
933 m10-24 10:52 UTC
YAOGAN 15THOR ABLESTAR DEB
5.39 km10-22 11:46 UTC
YAOGAN 27JASON DEB
6.52 km10-17 23:26 UTC
YAOGAN 15ONEWEB-0534

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 15 ⟷ JASON DEB: 7.17 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/35414-38354 (accessed 2026-10-24).