Overview
- SpaceX’s Michael Nicolls reported that a newly deployed object from CAS Space’s Kinetica‑1 launch came within about 200 meters of STARLINK‑6079 at roughly 560 kilometers altitude.
- US Space Force public data cited by astronomer Jonathan McDowell showed a close pass around 1:42 a.m. Eastern on December 12 over the eastern Pacific, cataloged as NORAD object 67001.
- CAS Space said it is investigating, noted it selects launch windows using ground‑based awareness to avoid known objects, and said the encounter occurred nearly 48 hours after payload separation.
- Commercial space‑situational‑awareness firms, including LeoLabs and COMSPOC, said they could not yet confirm SpaceX’s detailed account, highlighting verification and attribution gaps.
- The incident refocused attention on crowded low Earth orbit, with SpaceX reporting 144,404 collision‑avoidance maneuvers in the first half of 2025 and a new preprint ‘CRASH Clock’ analysis estimating a 2.8‑day window to a collision if maneuvering were lost.