A notice has been issued warning that Irish airspace could be at risk of hazardous falling debris, as Amazon launches a batch of broadband satellites from Florida.
Between 11.00pm on Wednesday night and 3.07am Thursday morning, a temporary danger area notice is in effect, prompted by the possibility that a disaster during the launch could rain debris through Irish skies.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) says that “there is an extremely low probability that debris will be generated in the event of a failure of the launch vehicle during flight, which can be hazardous to aircraft”.
Though the IAA has issued temporary danger area notices before, this is the first of its kind concerning a rocket launch from the US.
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The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided that, despite how close the rocket will be to Earth’s orbit by the time it is positioned above Irish airspace, it was necessary to establish a temporary response area.
Last month, a SpaceX starship spacecraft exploded minutes after taking off from a station in Texas.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper aims to launch a constellation of satellites into low Earth orbit, increasing global broadband access. An Atlas V rocket will deliver the first round of these satellites.
Shannon Flight Information Region (FIR), which covers most of the island of Ireland, is the area impacted by the notice, alongside London FIR and Gander and Shanwick FIR.
The aviation industry has been made aware of the situation, and can decide whether to fly into the airspace during the period in which there is a potential risk.
