Starlink 33682 beside BlueWalker 3
A satellite of SPXS moved up beside a satellite of ASTS, 76 km away at the nearest, and left after 1 day.
Left · the one that moved opened the distance on July 6, 2026
- Nearest
- 76.3 km
- Jul 5 · 2:00 PM UTC
- Beside for
- 1 day
- Jul 5, 2:00 PM to Jul 6, 2:00 PM UTC
- Took to come beside
- 1 day
- same plane Jul 4, same height Jul 5
- Orbit
- LEO
- low Earth orbit
Whether SPXS or ASTS has said what this rendezvous was is not recorded yet. What others said is below; this page draws no conclusion.
The stages
Each step is one of Space-Track’s element sets, run through SGP4 and set against the other’s. A stage is raised by one set and confirmed when a later one agrees.
published 9:49 PM UTC
Same plane seen
Starlink 33682’s orbit was found in BlueWalker 3’s plane, 0.095° off, and 14.1 km lower.
Δa −14.12 km · θ 0.095°
published 9:02 PM UTC
Same height seen
Starlink 33682’s orbit had come to within 2.49 km of BlueWalker 3’s height.
76.35 km · Δa −2.49 km · θ 0.081°
published 9:02 PM UTC
Beside raised
A set placed Starlink 33682 beside BlueWalker 3. One set raises it; a later one must agree.
76.35 km · 30.1 km a day later · Δa −2.49 km · θ 0.081°
published 11:14 AM UTC
Beside confirmed
A later set agreed: Starlink 33682 stayed beside BlueWalker 3.
82.88 km · 1,180.3 km a day later · Δa +2.42 km · θ 0.078°
published 6:59 PM UTC
Left raised
A set saw Starlink 33682 moving away from BlueWalker 3. One set raises it; a later one must agree.
132.75 km · 1,643.8 km a day later · Δa +7.45 km · θ 0.079°
published Jul 7, 12:06 AM UTC
Left confirmed
A later set agreed: Starlink 33682 had left BlueWalker 3.
422.77 km · 1,788.3 km a day later · Δa +9.46 km · θ 0.080°
Reported elsewhere
No report elsewhere names this rendezvous yet.
Every verdict as numbers
| Stage | State | Set epoch (UTC) | Published (UTC) | Distance | A day later | Δa | θ | Exclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Same plane | seen | 2026-07-04 14:00:01 | 2026-07-04 21:49:02 | −14.12 km | 0.0946° | |||
| Same height | seen | 2026-07-05 14:00:03 | 2026-07-05 21:02:50 | 76.35 km | −2.49 km | 0.0811° | ||
| Beside | raised | 2026-07-05 14:00:03 | 2026-07-05 21:02:50 | 76.35 km | 30.13 km | −2.49 km | 0.0811° | |
| Beside | confirmed | 2026-07-06 06:00:04 | 2026-07-06 11:14:40 | 82.88 km | 1,180.32 km | +2.42 km | 0.0780° | |
| Left | raised | 2026-07-06 14:00:03 | 2026-07-06 18:59:06 | 132.75 km | 1,643.82 km | +7.45 km | 0.0787° | |
| Left | confirmed | 2026-07-06 20:00:01 | 2026-07-07 00:06:49 | 422.77 km | 1,788.31 km | +9.46 km | 0.0795° |
Δa is the semi-major axis of the one that moved less the other’s; θ is the angle between the two orbits’ planes. A day later is where the set puts the two 24 hours on, with no further manoeuvre. An exclusion tag on any verdict would keep the pair off the list.