Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN 12 ⟷ STARLINK-36936
HighCross-border
ChinaYAOGAN 12NORAD 37875 · launched Nov 2011Military payload
6.67kmPredicted miss distance
United StatesSTARLINK-36936NORAD 68012 · launched Feb 2026Payload
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 6.78 km at 3 Nov 21:19 UTC.
Closest approach3 Nov 202621:19 UTC
Relative speed14.12 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude488 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed3 Nov21:15 UTC · final forecast
Track YAOGAN 12Track STARLINK-36936All approaches
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CN YAOGAN 12 and US STARLINK-36936 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 6.67 km at 2026-11-03 21:19 UTC, at a relative speed of 14.12 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 6.78 km at 3 Nov 21:19 UTC. 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 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 12Payload
NORAD 37875
CountryPRC
Launched2011-11-09
OrbitLEO · 475 × 490 km
COSPAR2011-066B
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
STARLINK-36936Payload
NORAD 68012
CountryUS
Launched2026-02-27
OrbitLEO · 482 × 484 km
COSPAR2026-039AC
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 488 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 488 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

4 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · YAOGAN 12 ⟷ STARLINK-36936
2026-11-11 18:387.87 km Withdrawn12.18 km/s477 kmView →
2026-11-11 17:043.07 km Live forecast12.20 km/s477 kmView →
2026-11-11 14:426.02 km Withdrawn12.21 km/s488 kmView →
2026-11-03 21:196.67 km Final forecast · after: 6.78 km14.12 km/s488 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
7 Nov 08:34 UTC6.78 km Best estimate3 Nov 21:19 UTC3 Nov 22:29 UTCBest estimate
3 Nov 20:29 UTC6.67 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC3 Nov 15:10 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 17:07 UTC6.75 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC3 Nov 13:51 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 09:13 UTC6.17 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC3 Nov 03:59 UTCRe-check
3 Nov 04:49 UTC7.61 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC3 Nov 00:01 UTCRe-check
2 Nov 22:30 UTC5.98 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC2 Nov 18:06 UTCRe-check
2 Nov 22:19 UTC6.22 km Forecast3 Nov 21:19 UTC2 Nov 18:06 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
748 m11-09 02:13 UTC
YAOGAN 12STARLINK-35988
1.06 km11-06 18:35 UTC
YAOGAN 12STARLINK-36289
1.36 km11-05 00:14 UTC
YAOGAN 12STARLINK-30992

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 →