Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-35 03B ⟷ STARLINK-31749
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WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 11 Nov 06:41 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 18.1 km apart. The most recent pass the screening confirmed up to its time: 2.90 km on 11 Nov 16:54 UTC.
Closest approach11 Nov 202613:46 UTC
Relative speed9.58 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude483 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed11 Nov04:06 UTC · withdrawn

CN YAOGAN-35 03B and US STARLINK-31749 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 9.42 km at 2026-11-11 13:46 UTC, at a relative speed of 9.58 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 11 Nov 06:41 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stayed at least 18.1 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 53318
CountryPRC
Launched2022-07-29
COSPAR2022-088C
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 59631
CountryUS
Launched2024-05-03
COSPAR2024-082A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 483 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 483 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 · YAOGAN-35 03B ⟷ STARLINK-31749
2026-11-11 16:542.90 km Final forecast9.58 km/s484 kmView →
2026-11-11 16:076.25 km Final forecast9.58 km/s484 kmView →
2026-11-11 13:469.42 km Withdrawn9.58 km/s483 kmShown above
2026-11-11 12:124.96 km Withdrawn9.58 km/s483 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
11 Nov 04:26 UTC19.24 km Withdrawn11 Nov 13:46 UTC10 Nov 23:19 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 02:26 UTC9.42 km Forecast11 Nov 13:46 UTC10 Nov 14:09 UTCRe-check
11 Nov 02:06 UTC9.70 km Forecast11 Nov 13:46 UTC10 Nov 14:09 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.08 km11-11 15:24 UTC
YAOGAN-35 03BSTARLINK-6095
1.44 km11-11 16:59 UTC
YAOGAN-35 03BSTARLINK-36124
1.84 km11-11 19:13 UTC
YAOGAN-35 03BSTARLINK-30757

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 →