Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-36 01C ⟷ STARLINK-2612
HighCross-border
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 12 Nov 15:23 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 273.2 km apart.
Closest approach13 Nov 202603:40 UTC
Relative speed7.58 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude444 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed12 Nov03:58 UTC · withdrawn

CN YAOGAN-36 01C and US STARLINK-2612 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 7.78 km at 2026-11-13 03:40 UTC, at a relative speed of 7.58 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 12 Nov 15:23 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 273.2 km apart. The figure above is the forecast as it was published; the newer check is shown beside it, and nothing is overwritten. This is a cross-border encounter between objects of different nations. 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 53947
CountryPRC
Launched2022-09-26
COSPAR2022-120E
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 48379
CountryUS
Launched2021-05-04
COSPAR2021-038AC
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 444 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 444 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 · YAOGAN-36 01C ⟷ STARLINK-2612
2026-11-13 22:181.11 km Live forecast7.50 km/s440 kmView →
2026-11-13 03:407.78 km Withdrawn7.58 km/s444 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
12 Nov 04:18 UTC120.55 km Withdrawn13 Nov 03:40 UTC11 Nov 21:03 UTCRe-check
12 Nov 03:58 UTC7.78 km Forecast13 Nov 03:40 UTC11 Nov 14:00 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.63 km11-11 18:55 UTC
YAOGAN-36 01CFLOCK 4BE-25
3.73 km11-10 06:34 UTC
YAOGAN-36 01CSTARLINK-2746
4.92 km11-11 01:48 UTC
YAOGAN-36 01CSTARLINK-34379

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 →