Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›PELICAN-11 ⟷ STARLINK-5884
CriticalProximity
Final forecastFinal forecast, made minutes before the pass.
After the passBest estimate, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 1.10 km at 3 Nov 02:31 UTC.
Closest approach3 Nov 202602:31 UTC
Relative speed15.06 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude574 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed3 Nov02:29 UTC · final forecast

US PELICAN-11 and US STARLINK-5884 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 856 m at 2026-11-03 02:31 UTC, at a relative speed of 15.06 km/s. Final forecast, made minutes before the pass. Best estimate after the pass, from the orbit data published nearest its time: 1.10 km at 3 Nov 02:31 UTC. 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
PELICAN-11Payload
NORAD 69871
CountryUS
Launched2026-07-07
COSPAR2026-156C
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 55957
CountryUS
Launched2023-03-17
COSPAR2023-037AV
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 574 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 574 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 · PELICAN-11 ⟷ STARLINK-5884
2026-11-03 03:197.92 km Final forecast15.05 km/s576 kmView →
2026-11-03 02:31856 m Final forecast15.06 km/s574 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
6 Nov 06:55 UTC1.10 km Best estimate3 Nov 02:31 UTC3 Nov 03:07 UTCBest estimate
2 Nov 21:35 UTC856 m Forecast3 Nov 02:31 UTC2 Nov 18:24 UTCRe-check
2 Nov 21:23 UTC5.47 km Forecast3 Nov 02:31 UTC2 Nov 13:39 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
877 m10-31 11:31 UTC
PELICAN-11STARLINK-5261
1.80 km11-06 17:30 UTC
COSMOS 2242PELICAN-11
2.13 km11-02 18:43 UTC
PELICAN-11STARLINK-3068

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 →