Home›Maneuver Tracker›Close Approaches›R5-S9 ⟷ PEARL-1B
HighProximity
Live forecastConfirmed by the latest screening, 30 Oct 08:12 UTC.
Closest approach31 Oct 202602:41 UTC
Drift speed505 m/s1,817 km/h, seen from PEARL-1B
Altitude582 kmlow Earth orbit
Separation now—live

US R5-S9 and TWN PEARL-1B are predicted to reach a closest approach of 1.28 km at 2026-10-31 02:41 UTC, drifting past at about 505 m/s (1,817 km/h) as seen from PEARL-1B. Confirmed by the latest screening, 30 Oct 08:12 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
R5-S9Payload
NORAD 69901
CountryUS
Launched2026-07-07
COSPAR2026-156AJ
Maneuver capableUnknown
PEARL-1BPayload
NORAD 68980
CountryTWN
Launched2026-05-03
COSPAR2026-100A
Maneuver capableUnknown

Where This Happens

Altitude context
DEBRIS BELT 700–1000 KM2006001,0001,5002,000 kmTHIS PASS · 582 KMISS 420Starlink 550

At 582 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 · R5-S9 ⟷ PEARL-1B
2026-10-31 02:411.28 km Live forecast0.51 km/s582 kmShown above
2026-10-30 21:039.17 km Live forecast0.50 km/s606 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 Nothing is overwritten: a withdrawn forecast keeps its figure, with the newer check beside it, and the best estimate after the pass is a row of its own.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
30 Oct 02:51 UTC1.30 km Forecast31 Oct 02:41 UTC29 Oct 03:35 UTCScreen

These Objects Elsewhere

Other screened approaches · 7 days
1.25 km10-29 12:01 UTC
R5-S9AAC-IO1
1.77 km10-23 21:57 UTC
R5-S9CZ-6A DEB
2.84 km10-26 20:29 UTC
R5-S9HORYU 2

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 — “R5-S9 ⟷ PEARL-1B: 1.28 km predicted close approach”, https://orbitalradar.com/conjunction/68980-69901 (accessed 2026-10-30).