Space debris hazard operations are occurring in Sulu Sea, Philippines, on August 16 from 02:00 to 08:00 UTC; warning canceled August 26 at 09:00 UTC.
Sulu Sea · HYDROPAC 2308/26
What this record establishes
Cancelled notice · 2026-08-21 15:40Z
This notice disappeared from the issuing source's in-force list. No explicit recovery or all-clear is established by that removal.
- Source and dates
- NGA MSI in-force warnings (DailyMem*.txt). Issued 2026-08-11 12:11Z. First collected 2026-08-17 13:41Z; last seen in collection 2026-08-23 13:02Z. Collection dates record ingestion, not a new incident or a fresh field observation.
- Location covered
- Sulu Sea. The map shows an area described by the warning; the listed coordinate is its representative center. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.
Related notices and cancellation links
These reports were linked by category and sea, with positions within 30 nautical miles and issue dates within 30 days of another report's recorded in-force span. Links can extend through other members, so the full group can cover a larger area or period. Proximity does not confirm that they describe one incident.
- HYDROPAC 2308/26 · this notice2026-08-11 · Cancelled notice
- NAVAREA XI 406/262026-09-12 · Cancelled notice
- HYDROPAC 2641/262026-09-12 · Cancelled notice
- NAVAREA XI 411/262026-09-16 · Cancelled notice
Activity windows · 1 in this warning
| opens (UTC) | closes (UTC) | local | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-16 02:00Z | 2026-08-16 08:00Z | — | 6 h |
Parsed from the warning text; outside these windows the area is normally not active, but the warning stays in force until cancelled.
- issued
- 2026-08-11 12:11Z
- status
- Cancelled notice
- self-cancels
- 2026-08-16 09:00Z
- sea
- Sulu Sea
- position
- 9.109, 119.273
- nearest port
- Pelabuhan Sandakan · 207 nm
- source
- NGA MSI in-force warnings (DailyMem*.txt) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:41Z
Original warning text
SULU SEA.
PHILIPPINES.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
160200Z TO 160800Z AUG IN AREAS BOUND BY:
A. 09-06.00N 119-22.20E, 08-59.40N 119-12.60E,
09-16.80N 118-59.40E, 09-24.00N 119-09.00E.
B. 08-57.00N 119-36.00E, 08-45.00N 119-19.80E,
09-16.20N 118-57.00E, 09-28.20N 119-12.60E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 160900Z AUG 26.Reading this warning
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Area bound by
- Introduces a list of positions that are the corners of an area — the polygon the warning applies to.
- Position (degrees and minutes)
- How warnings write positions: degrees, a hyphen, then minutes, with N/S and E/W — 49-40.8N 003-43.8W.
- CANCEL THIS MSG
- The warning's own expiry: a line telling the reader when the message cancels itself.
Likely launch behind this area
Long March 12 | SatNet LEO Group 24
- NET
- 2026-08-16 04:10Z · Launch Successful
- rocket
- Long March 12 · China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
- pad
- Commercial LC-2, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China · 794 nm from this area
Matched by pad distance and launch window; the warning itself does not name the launch. Data: Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Collected reports in this area · missile & rocket hazards
9 within 180 nm since 2025 · 8 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now
Counts include repeat notices about the same situation. NGA archive coverage ends 2024-05; live collection began 2026-08-17. The period between them is incomplete. An empty year is not evidence that no hazards occurred.
- Space debris2026-09-20
- Hazardous operations, space debris 231100Z to 231700Z sep in areas bound by: a. 12-24.60N 116-04.20E,…2026-09-20
- Space debris2026-09-16
- Hazardous operations, space debris 162200Z to 170400Z sep in area bound by 09-16.20N 118-57.00E, 09-28.20N…2026-09-12
- Space debris2026-09-12
- Hazardous operations, space debris 190500Z to 191100Z jan in areas bound by: a. 09-31.00N 119-04.00E,…2026-01-16
Month of issue in the collected archive
All available years combined. Uneven collection and repeat bulletins affect these counts; this chart does not measure the seasonality or probability of incidents.
Nearby notices listed in force · within 120 nm
No other collected notice is currently listed in force within this radius. This does not establish safe conditions.
Worldwide in the collected sources
6 missile & rocket hazards listed in force · see all
Record snapshot 2026-09-26 01:16Z; source collection times vary.
Missiles
Missile firings, rocket launches and space debris re-entry areas. All current missile & rocket hazards →
Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.