Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2612 ⟷ STARLINK-4071
HighCross-border
On permanent record
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 25 Oct 16:14 UTC.
Closest approach25 Oct 202617:48 UTC
Relative speed13.10 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude546 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

RU COSMOS 2612 and US STARLINK-4071 are predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.32 km at 2026-10-25 17:48 UTC, at a relative speed of 13.10 km/s. Confirmed by the latest screening, 25 Oct 16:14 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 68762
CountryCIS
Launched2026-04-16
COSPAR2026-083H
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 52671
CountryUS
Launched2022-05-18
COSPAR2022-053R
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 546 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 546 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 2612 ⟷ STARLINK-4071
2026-10-25 18:367.66 km Live forecast13.11 km/s536 kmView →
2026-10-25 17:484.32 km Live forecast13.10 km/s546 kmShown above
2026-10-16 18:567.62 km Not re-confirmed14.65 km/s543 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
25 Oct 14:46 UTC4.32 km Forecast25 Oct 17:48 UTC25 Oct 09:26 UTCRe-check
25 Oct 14:26 UTC5.32 km Forecast25 Oct 17:48 UTC25 Oct 09:26 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
26 m10-19 16:07 UTC
COSMOS 2612ICEYE-X36
1.00 km10-23 21:03 UTC
COSMOS 2612JILIN-01 KUANFU 02B 4
2.30 km10-25 21:28 UTC
COSMOS 2612STARLINK-3060

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 2612 ⟷ STARLINK-4071: 4.32 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/52671-68762 (accessed 2026-10-25).
✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.