VERTECS beside TRACERS 2
A satellite of KYUT moved up beside a satellite of NASA, 3.6 km away at the nearest, and left the same day.
Left · the one that moved opened the distance on June 16, 2026
- Nearest
- 3.6 km
- Jun 16 · 2:27 AM UTC
- Beside for
- 17 h
- Jun 16, 2:27 AM to Jun 16, 7:34 PM UTC
- Took to come beside
- 3 days 22 h
- same plane Jun 12, same height Jun 16
- Orbit
- LEO
- low Earth orbit
Whether KYUT or NASA 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 11:16 PM UTC
Same plane seen
VERTECS’s orbit was found in TRACERS 2’s plane, 0.006° off, and 0.25 km lower.
Δa −0.25 km · θ 0.006°
published 7:27 AM UTC
Same height seen
VERTECS’s orbit had come to within 0.03 km of TRACERS 2’s height.
3.60 km · Δa −0.03 km · θ 0.001°
published 7:27 AM UTC
Beside raised
A set placed VERTECS beside TRACERS 2. One set raises it; a later one must agree.
3.60 km · 8.9 km a day later · Δa −0.03 km · θ 0.001°
published 7:46 AM UTC
Beside confirmed
A later set agreed: VERTECS stayed beside TRACERS 2.
3.96 km · 9.4 km a day later · Δa −0.03 km · θ 0.001°
published 10:56 PM UTC
Left raised
A set saw VERTECS moving away from TRACERS 2. One set raises it; a later one must agree.
Δa −22.94 km · θ 0.108°
published 7:56 AM UTC
Left confirmed
A later set agreed: VERTECS had left TRACERS 2.
12,824.51 km · 13,723.8 km a day later · Δa −22.89 km · θ 0.040°
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 | 2026-06-12 03:34:47 | 2026-06-12 23:16:46 | −0.25 km | 0.0063° | |||
| Same height | seen | 2026-06-16 02:27:04 | 2026-06-16 07:27:16 | 3.60 km | −0.03 km | 0.0008° | ||
| Beside | raised | 2026-06-16 02:27:04 | 2026-06-16 07:27:16 | 3.60 km | 8.94 km | −0.03 km | 0.0008° | |
| Beside | confirmed | 2026-06-16 04:03:33 | 2026-06-16 07:46:49 | 3.96 km | 9.40 km | −0.03 km | 0.0008° | |
| Left | raised | 2026-06-16 19:34:24 | 2026-06-16 22:56:50 | −22.94 km | 0.1083° | |||
| Left | confirmed | 2026-06-17 02:34:15 | 2026-06-17 07:56:46 | 12,824.51 km | 13,723.85 km | −22.89 km | 0.0404° |
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.