Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›YAOGAN-43 O1A ⟷ YAM-6
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On permanent record
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 4 Nov 20:00 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 13.0 km apart.
Closest approach6 Nov 202606:15 UTC
Relative speed13.70 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude444 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed5 Nov08:51 UTC · withdrawn

CN YAOGAN-43 O1A and US YAM-6 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 2.87 km at 2026-11-06 06:15 UTC, at a relative speed of 13.70 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 4 Nov 20:00 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 13.0 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, 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 60458
CountryPRC
Launched2024-08-16
COSPAR2024-148A
Maneuver capableUnknown
YAM-6Payload
NORAD 59126
CountryUS
Launched2024-03-04
COSPAR2024-043AE
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

1 predicted pass under 10 km
Pair history · YAOGAN-43 O1A ⟷ YAM-6
2026-11-06 06:152.87 km Withdrawn13.70 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
5 Nov 09:11 UTC12.98 km Withdrawn6 Nov 06:15 UTC4 Nov 20:00 UTCRe-check
5 Nov 06:51 UTC2.87 km Forecast6 Nov 06:15 UTC4 Nov 11:37 UTCRe-check
5 Nov 06:31 UTC5.89 km Forecast6 Nov 06:15 UTC4 Nov 11:37 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
3.01 km11-02 15:16 UTC
YAOGAN-36 03AYAOGAN-43 O1A
3.08 km11-03 07:30 UTC
YAOGAN-43 O1AGLOBAL-5
3.45 km11-05 13:35 UTC
YAOGAN-43 O1AGAOFEN 9 04

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 →

✓ Permanent record. This encounter met the notability thresholds and keeps an archived page after the pass.