Rocket launching
The areas where spent rocket stages, boosters and fairings are expected to fall after a launch, with the launch window.
A rocket drops parts as it climbs: boosters, first stages, payload fairings. Before each launch the operator's government defines the sea areas where they are expected to land and asks for them to be broadcast as warnings, with a daily window and backup days in case the launch slips.
Launches from coastal sites in the United States, China, Japan, India, French Guiana and elsewhere account for much of the missile-and-rocket category in this archive. A warning for a launch window says nothing about whether the launch took place in it.
What the archive shows
1,756 messages in this archive use “Rocket launching”, the earliest issued 1999-01-30 and the latest 2026-09-21. None of them is in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2023, with 318 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Missiles accounts for 1,753 of 1,756 recorded messages (100%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 28 sea areas; the most frequent are North Atlantic Ocean (918), Barentsz Sea (162) and North Pacific Ocean (134).
Messages that use it are issued most often in November (179 across all years) and least often in July (114).
By warning series: NAVAREA IV 906, HYDROPAC 384, HYDROARC 258 and NAVAREA XII 103, and 3 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 28 sea areas
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2730/26 · Missiles · South Pacific Ocean2026-09-21
…NEW ZEALAND. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 1700Z TO 0200Z DAILY 25 SEP THRU 07 OCT: A. ROCKET LAUNCHING IN AREA BOUND BY 39-12.00S 177-42.00E, 39-10.80S 177-55.80E, 39-04.20S 178-18.00E,…
Hazardous operations 1700Z to 0200Z daily 25 sep thru 07 oct: a. rocket launching in area bound by 39-12.00S… → - HYDROARC 247/26 · Missiles · Norwegian Sea2026-09-20
NORWEGIAN SEA. NORWAY. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 0700Z TO 1500Z DAILY 21 THRU 25 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 69-06.78N 015-37.92E, 69-08.28N…
Hazardous operations, rocket launching 0700Z to 1500Z daily 21 thru 25 sep in area bound by 69-06.78N… → - NAVAREA 19 118/26 · Missiles · Norwegian Sea2026-09-19
1. ROCKET LAUNCH OPERATION WILL BE CONDUCTED. 0700 - 1500 UTC DAILY FROM 21 TO 25 SEPT 26. IN AN AREA…
0700 - 1500 UTC daily from 21 to 25 sept 26 → - NAVAREA IV 922/26 · Missiles · Gulf of Mexico2026-09-17
GULF OF AMERICA. YUCATAN CHANNEL. TEXAS. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 281215Z TO 281414Z SEP, ALTERNATE 1215Z TO 1414Z DAILY 29 SEP THRU 04 OCT IN AREAS…
Hazardous operations, rocket launching 281215Z to 281414Z sep, alternate 1215Z to 1414Z daily 29 sep thru 04… → - NAVAREA XII 647/26 · Missiles · North Pacific Ocean2026-09-16
NORTH PACIFIC. CALIFORNIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING: A. 261156Z TO 261521Z SEP, ALTERNATE 271249Z TO 271507Z, 281128Z TO 281453Z, 291114Z…
Hazardous operations, rocket launching: a. 261156Z to 261521Z sep, alternate 271249Z to 271507Z, 281128Z to… → - NAVAREA IV 897/26 · Missiles · Gulf of Mexico2026-09-15
GULF OF AMERICA. YUCATAN CHANNEL. TEXAS. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 221215Z TO 221414Z SEP, ALTERNATE 1215Z TO 1414Z DAILY 23 THRU 28 SEP IN AREAS BOUND…
Hazardous operations, rocket launching 221215Z to 221414Z sep, alternate 1215Z to 1414Z daily 23 thru 28 sep… → - HYDROPAC 2662/26 · Missiles · South Pacific Ocean2026-09-15
…NEW ZEALAND. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0115Z TO 2330Z DAILY 19 SEP THRU 01 OCT: A. ROCKET LAUNCHING IN AREA BOUND BY 39-12.00S 177-46.20E, 39-07.80S 178-18.00E, 39-19.20S 178-18.00E,…
Hazardous operations 0115Z to 2330Z daily 19 sep thru 01 oct: a. rocket launching in area bound by 39-12.00S… → - HYDROARC 232/26 · Missiles · Norwegian Sea2026-09-13
NORWEGIAN SEA. NORWAY. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 1800Z TO 0300Z DAILY 14 THRU 19 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 69-53.08N 016-21.58E, 70-12.38N…
Hazardous operations, rocket launching 1800Z to 0300Z daily 14 thru 19 sep in area bound by 69-53.08N… →
Earliest in the archive
- HYDROLANT 201/99 · Missiles · North Atlantic Ocean1999-01-30
1. ROCKET LAUNCHING 2200Z TO 0100Z COMMENCING DAILY 03 FEB THRU 03 MAR IN AREAS BOUND BY: A. 02-29.0N…
Rocket launching 2200Z to 0100Z commencing daily 03 feb thru 03 mar in areas bound by: a. 02-29.0N… →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Space debris
- An area where parts of a spacecraft or rocket stage are expected to come down at sea, from a launch or a planned re-entry.
- Hazardous operations
- NGA's heading for activities that make an area dangerous — most often rocket launches, space debris and weapons firings, and some open-ended danger areas.
- Missile firing
- Missile tests or exercises, with the danger area and times during which missiles may be in flight or falling.
- Date-time group (DTG)
- A compact UTC timestamp — day, hour and minute followed by Z — such as 201500Z for the 20th at 15:00 UTC.
Warning types that use it
- Missiles — Missile firings, rocket launches and space debris re-entry areas.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.