Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›PELICAN-11 ⟷ NOVASAR 1
MediumProximity
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 23 Oct 04:24 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 26.0 km apart. The most recent pass the screening confirmed up to its time: 8.68 km on 23 Oct 16:50 UTC.
Closest approach23 Oct 202618:26 UTC
Relative speed4.11 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude584 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed23 Oct09:56 UTC · withdrawn

US PELICAN-11 and UK NOVASAR 1 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.71 km at 2026-10-23 18:26 UTC, at a relative speed of 4.11 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 23 Oct 04:24 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 26.0 km apart. The figure above is the forecast as it was published; the newer check is shown beside it, and nothing is overwritten. 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
PELICAN-11Payload
NORAD 69871
CountryUS
Launched2026-07-07
COSPAR2026-156C
Maneuver capableUnknown
NOVASAR 1Payload
NORAD 43619
CountryUK
Launched2018-09-16
COSPAR2018-071B
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 584 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 584 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 · PELICAN-11 ⟷ NOVASAR 1
2026-10-23 19:149.99 km Withdrawn4.12 km/s570 kmView →
2026-10-23 18:265.71 km Withdrawn4.11 km/s584 kmShown above
2026-10-23 16:508.68 km Final forecast4.11 km/s584 kmView →
2026-10-23 16:01943 m Final forecast4.11 km/s570 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
23 Oct 10:16 UTC26.02 km Withdrawn23 Oct 18:26 UTC23 Oct 04:24 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 22:16 UTC5.71 km Forecast23 Oct 18:26 UTC22 Oct 17:10 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 19:02 UTC5.38 km Forecast23 Oct 18:26 UTC22 Oct 05:56 UTCRe-check
22 Oct 18:42 UTC5.49 km Forecast23 Oct 18:26 UTC22 Oct 05:56 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.63 km10-24 10:30 UTC
COSMOS 2582NOVASAR 1
2.75 km10-22 19:16 UTC
PELICAN-11ICEYE-X56
3.54 km10-22 19:14 UTC
PELICAN-11TIMED

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 — “PELICAN-11 ⟷ NOVASAR 1: 5.71 km forecast, withdrawn”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/43619-69871 (accessed 2026-10-23).