Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-39 01A ⟷ STARLINK-5011
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On permanent record
Final forecastFinal forecast, made 17 min before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 8.13 km at 22 Oct 08:41 UTC.
Closest approach22 Oct 202608:41 UTC
Relative speed3.89 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude498 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed22 Oct08:24 UTC · final forecast

CN YAOGAN-39 01A and US STARLINK-5011 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 4.55 km at 2026-10-22 08:41 UTC, at a relative speed of 3.89 km/s. Final forecast, made 17 min before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 8.13 km at 22 Oct 08:41 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 57727
CountryPRC
Launched2023-08-31
COSPAR2023-130A
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 53925
CountryUS
Launched2022-09-24
COSPAR2022-119AR
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 498 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 498 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 · YAOGAN-39 01A ⟷ STARLINK-5011
2026-10-23 22:278.13 km Final forecast3.71 km/s496 kmView →
2026-10-23 20:065.30 km Final forecast3.73 km/s488 kmView →
2026-10-22 08:414.55 km Final forecast3.89 km/s498 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
24 Oct 08:49 UTC8.13 km Best estimate22 Oct 08:41 UTC22 Oct 07:24 UTCBest estimate
22 Oct 08:04 UTC4.55 km Reinstated22 Oct 08:41 UTC21 Oct 22:00 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 13:30 UTC14.33 km Withdrawn22 Oct 08:41 UTC21 Oct 09:47 UTCRe-check
21 Oct 13:11 UTC3.30 km Forecast22 Oct 08:41 UTC21 Oct 04:42 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
2.41 km10-23 02:32 UTC
YAOGAN-39 01ATEN-KOH 2
3.20 km10-24 20:21 UTC
YAOGAN-39 01ASTARLINK-1417
4.99 km10-19 17:00 UTC
YAOGAN-39 01AFLOCK 4H 17

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 — “YAOGAN-39 01A ⟷ STARLINK-5011: 4.55 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/53925-57727 (accessed 2026-10-24).
✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.