Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN 14 ⟷ SAUDISAT 5B
HighProximity
ChinaYAOGAN 14NORAD 38257 · launched May 2012Military payload
1.79kmPredicted miss distance
SAUDSAUDISAT 5BNORAD 43833 · launched Dec 2018Payload
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 29 Oct 12:32 UTC.
Closest approach30 Oct 202604:33 UTC
Relative speed8.93 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude489 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live
Track YAOGAN 14Track SAUDISAT 5BAll approaches
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CN YAOGAN 14 and SAUD SAUDISAT 5B are predicted to reach a closest approach of 1.79 km at 2026-10-30 04:33 UTC, at a relative speed of 8.93 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 29 Oct 12:32 UTC. 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 14Payload
NORAD 38257
CountryPRC
Launched2012-05-10
OrbitLEO · 473 × 482 km
COSPAR2012-021A
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →
SAUDISAT 5BPayload
NORAD 43833
CountrySAUD
Launched2018-12-07
OrbitLEO · 470 × 485 km
COSPAR2018-102C
Maneuver capableUnknown
Profile →Globe →

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 489 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 489 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

6 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · YAOGAN 14 ⟷ SAUDISAT 5B
2026-10-30 07:412.81 km Live forecast8.93 km/s489 kmView →
2026-10-30 04:331.79 km Live forecast8.93 km/s489 kmShown above
2026-10-29 21:299.22 km Live forecast8.96 km/s466 kmView →
2026-10-29 11:164.31 km Final forecast8.93 km/s489 kmView →
2026-10-29 07:213.99 km Final forecast8.96 km/s466 kmView →
2026-10-29 04:122.76 km Final forecast8.96 km/s466 kmView →

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
29 Oct 04:55 UTC1.79 km Forecast30 Oct 04:33 UTC28 Oct 15:17 UTCRe-check
29 Oct 04:35 UTC8.97 km Forecast30 Oct 04:33 UTC28 Oct 15:17 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
649 m10-27 02:09 UTC
YAOGAN 14STARLINK-33967
798 m10-22 14:24 UTC
COSMOS 1975YAOGAN 14
2.27 km10-27 14:35 UTC
YAOGAN 14STARLINK-34507

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 14 ⟷ SAUDISAT 5B: 1.79 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/38257-43833 (accessed 2026-10-29).