Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›COSMOS 2588 ⟷ STARLINK-33904
CriticalCross-border
On permanent record
WithdrawnNewer orbit data from 4 Nov 14:06 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 17.3 km apart.
Closest approach5 Nov 202607:01 UTC
Relative speed10.27 km/sat the closest approach
Altitude468 kmlow Earth orbit
Last confirmed4 Nov17:39 UTC · withdrawn

RU COSMOS 2588 and US STARLINK-33904 were predicted to reach a closest approach of 960 m at 2026-11-05 07:01 UTC, at a relative speed of 10.27 km/s. Withdrawn: newer orbit data from 4 Nov 14:06 UTC no longer shows this pass. Within 40 minutes of the predicted time the two stay at least 17.3 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 64095
CountryCIS
Launched2025-05-23
COSPAR2025-109A
Maneuver capableUnknown
NORAD 63887
CountryUS
Launched2025-05-10
COSPAR2025-094Z
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 468 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 468 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 · COSMOS 2588 ⟷ STARLINK-33904
2026-11-05 07:01960 m Withdrawn10.27 km/s468 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
4 Nov 17:58 UTC17.28 km Withdrawn5 Nov 07:01 UTC4 Nov 14:06 UTCRe-check
4 Nov 12:32 UTC960 m Forecast5 Nov 07:01 UTC4 Nov 04:02 UTCRe-check
4 Nov 12:13 UTC3.06 km Forecast5 Nov 07:01 UTC4 Nov 04:02 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
720 m11-04 23:22 UTC
COSMOS 2588OBJECT D
858 m11-04 23:22 UTC
COSMOS 2588OBJECT E
945 m11-03 09:57 UTC
COSMOS 2588STARLINK-30956

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.