LDPE 3A beside Shi Jian 23
A satellite of US Air Force Research Laboratories/RV (Space Vehicles Directorate) came up beside a satellite of Strategic Support Troops, 30 km away at the nearest its sources state.
Reported: 1 public report other than Orbinauts names these two.
From the public record
- From
- October 2024
- no source states the end
- Closest stated
- 30 km
- Nov 4, 2024
- Orbit
- GEO
- geostationary orbit
The one that moved
LDPE 3A
US Air Force Research Laboratories/RV (Space Vehicles Directorate), United States
55264 · 2023-008B · launched Jan 15, 2023
The one it came up to
Shi Jian 23
Strategic Support Troops, CN
55131 · 2023-002A · launched Jan 8, 2023
What the sources state
Every day and distance here is the sources’ own, to the precision they state.
- When
- from October 2024
- BesideOctober 2024
- In October 2024, LDPE 3A maneuvered close to China's SJ-23; after this it maneuvered to synchronize itself with SJ-23 and drift along with it 0.68 degrees west per day
- Closest statedNov 4, 2024
- possibly getting within 30 km of it on November 4 and 5
The detector was not yet running: it reads low Earth orbit since April 2026 and the geostationary belt since October 2026.
Reported elsewhere
Who else said these two were together, earliest first.
| Said on | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2026 | Institute | Victoria Samson, SWF US RPO fact sheet, 12 June 2026, p. 5 and table |