The minimum altitude for rendezvous shall be 1,500 feet days, 2,500 feet nights, ensuring a minimum of ____ feet vertical separation between receiver and tanker until visual separation can be maintained.

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Vertical separation during a rendezvous creates a safety cushion while the receiver closes in and transitions to visual contact with the tanker. The 500-foot gap is chosen because it provides enough margin to absorb small altitude errors, turbulence, and misperception, giving the pilots time to align and establish positive visual separation without the risk of contact. The day and night minimum altitudes (1,500 feet by day, 2,500 feet by night) ensure terrain and obstacle clearance during the approach, while the 500-foot vertical separation remains the standard buffer until visual cues confirm safe separation. Smaller separations would reduce that safety margin and increase collision risk, while much larger separations would unnecessarily slow the rendezvous.