Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN 27 ⟷ ONEWEB-0263
MediumProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 15 min before the pass.
Closest approach27 Oct 202608:39 UTC
Relative speed9.22 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude1,204 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed27 Oct08:24 UTC · final forecast

CN YAOGAN 27 and UK ONEWEB-0263 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.26 km at 2026-10-27 08:39 UTC, at a relative speed of 9.22 km/s. Final forecast, made 15 min 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 27Payload
NORAD 40878
CountryPRC
Launched2015-08-27
COSPAR2015-040A
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 48981
CountryUK
Launched2021-07-01
COSPAR2021-060Q
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 1204 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 1204 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 27 ⟷ ONEWEB-0263
2026-10-27 08:395.26 km Final forecast9.22 km/s1,204 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
26 Oct 22:05 UTC5.26 km Forecast27 Oct 08:39 UTC26 Oct 20:57 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 16:41 UTC5.17 km Forecast27 Oct 08:39 UTC26 Oct 09:57 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 09:43 UTC5.33 km Forecast27 Oct 08:39 UTC25 Oct 23:03 UTCRe-check
26 Oct 09:23 UTC6.07 km Forecast27 Oct 08:39 UTC25 Oct 23:03 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
4.00 km10-30 13:21 UTC
YAOGAN 27DELTA 1 DEB
5.74 km10-25 09:20 UTC
YAOGAN 27ONEWEB-0406
7.33 km10-27 18:55 UTC
YAOGAN 27ONEWEB-0335

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 27 ⟷ ONEWEB-0263: 5.26 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/40878-48981 (accessed 2026-10-30).