Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2538 ⟷ DRISHTI
MediumProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 11 min before the pass.
Closest approach2 Nov 202613:27 UTC
Relative speed15.08 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude504 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed2 Nov13:15 UTC · final forecast

RU COSMOS 2538 and IN DRISHTI were predicted to reach a closest approach of 5.28 km at 2026-11-02 13:27 UTC, at a relative speed of 15.08 km/s. Final forecast, made 11 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
NORAD 44424
CountryCIS
Launched2019-07-10
COSPAR2019-039D
Maneuver capableUnknown
DRISHTIPayload
NORAD 69010
CountryIND
Launched2026-05-03
COSPAR2026-100AG
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 504 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 504 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

2 predicted passes under 10 km
Pair history · COSMOS 2538 ⟷ DRISHTI
2026-11-02 13:275.28 km Final forecast15.08 km/s504 kmShown above
2026-11-02 10:172.04 km Final forecast15.08 km/s503 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
2 Nov 11:35 UTC5.28 km Forecast2 Nov 13:27 UTC2 Nov 03:54 UTCRe-check
2 Nov 11:17 UTC6.50 km Forecast2 Nov 13:27 UTC2 Nov 03:54 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.06 km11-03 00:15 UTC
COSMOS 2538STARLINK-31750
2.48 km10-31 15:26 UTC
COSMOS 2538STARLINK-31699
3.05 km10-31 21:46 UTC
COSMOS 2538STARLINK-36483

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 2538 ⟷ DRISHTI: 5.28 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/44424-69010 (accessed 2026-11-02).