Close approach · predicted from public data

ISS (ZARYA) and SL-3 R/B: 9.59 km apart

ISS (ZARYA) (satellite) and SL-3 R/B (rocket body) are predicted to pass 9.59 km apart at 2026-10-13 12:56 UTC, about 420 km up, closing at 7.2 km/s.

After this encounter passes we check fresh tracking data for a week and report here what happened.

The two objects

ObjectNORADTypeLatest orbit dataData age at approach
ISS (ZARYA)25544working satellite2026-10-08 00:21 UTC5.5 d
screening: 6.6 d
SL-3 R/B10114rocket body2026-10-08 06:31 UTC5.3 d
screening: 6.3 d

What this is, and is not

This is a prediction built from public orbit data, which is accurate to roughly a kilometre and comes without uncertainty estimates. Operators get better data and formal warnings, and may already have moved. A prediction of a few hundred metres is common and rarely ends in a collision; it is the sheer number of them that makes orbit dangerous.

Orbits are calculated in your browser with SGP4, the same model used to produce the data, from CelesTrak GP data (CCSDS OMM). Screening by CelesTrak SOCRATES Plus. Earth imagery: NASA Blue Marble.