Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756) ⟷ YAOGAN-30 H
HighCross-border
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 22 Oct 13:43 UTC.
Closest approach22 Oct 202617:26 UTC
Relative speed6.90 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude551 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

RU COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756) and CN YAOGAN-30 H are predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.71 km at 2026-10-22 17:26 UTC, at a relative speed of 6.90 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 22 Oct 13:43 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 39491
CountryCIS
Launched2013-12-28
COSPAR2013-078B
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 43082
CountryPRC
Launched2017-12-25
COSPAR2017-085B
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 551 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 551 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 · COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756) ⟷ YAOGAN-30 H
2026-10-23 10:118.23 km Live forecast7.06 km/s558 kmView →
2026-10-22 17:265.71 km Live forecast6.90 km/s551 kmShown above
2026-10-22 15:502.83 km Live forecast6.88 km/s551 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
22 Oct 11:50 UTC5.71 km Forecast22 Oct 17:26 UTC22 Oct 06:10 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 08:04 UTC5.86 km Forecast22 Oct 17:26 UTC21 Oct 22:11 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 02:04 UTC5.79 km Forecast22 Oct 17:26 UTC21 Oct 14:09 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 20:24 UTC5.57 km Forecast22 Oct 17:26 UTC21 Oct 06:14 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 20:04 UTC5.97 km Forecast22 Oct 17:26 UTC21 Oct 06:14 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
4.01 km10-18 20:18 UTC
YAOGAN-30 HKORSAT 7
4.33 km10-23 05:21 UTC
COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756)ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B
4.98 km10-16 00:42 UTC
COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756)CZ-4B DEB

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 — “COSMOS 2494 (SKRL 756) ⟷ YAOGAN-30 H: 5.71 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/39491-43082 (accessed 2026-10-22).