---
title: "Russian Rocket Booster, Not Military Exercise, Prompts Airspace Warning Off California"
date: "2024-05-17"
modified: "2024-05-17"
authors:
  - name: "Howard Altman"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/howard-altman"
url: "https://www.twz.com/space/russian-rocket-booster-not-military-exercise-prompts-airspace-warning-off-california"
categories:
  - "Americas"
  - "Around The Globe"
  - "Europe"
  - "Launch Vehicles"
  - "News & Features"
  - "Russia"
  - "Russian Space Program"
  - "Space"
  - "U.S. Homeland"
---

# Russian Rocket Booster, Not Military Exercise, Prompts Airspace Warning Off California

![Defense officials say a notice to airmen was issued for a Russian space launch booster, not a military exercise.](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/17/NOTAM-Top-JPEG.jpg>)
*Via Twitter*

Airspace over [a swath of the Pacific Ocean](<https://www.notams.faa.gov/dinsQueryWeb/queryRetrievalMapAction.do?retrieveLocId=KZAK%20RJJJ&actionType=notamRetrievalByICAOs&submit=NOTAMs>) off the coast of Baja California is being closed for the next 10 days because of the re-entry of a “Russian space launch booster,” two U.S. defense officials told *The War Zone*.

“It is not for a launch or a military exercise,” the officials said, dispelling concerns circulating on social media that the Russians were about to conduct a military exercise close to the U.S. mainland.

https://twitter.com/tshugart3/status/1791434771186254082

Those concerns spread after the [Defense Internet NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) Service](<https://www.notams.faa.gov/dinsQueryWeb/queryRetrievalMapAction.do?retrieveLocId=KZAK%20RJJJ&actionType=notamRetrievalByICAOs&submit=NOTAMs>) (DINS) posted a NOTAM on May 13 advising pilots to avoid the listed area between May 16 and May 26 “for Russian Federation impact area by at least 50 nautical miles.”

"This notice is for all aircraft transiting from Hawaii to North America and North America to Hawaii. The following restrictions are due to Russian Federation rocket firing impact area," the NOTAM read, perhaps sparking confusion.

"The temporary routes described...are for all aircraft equipped with [RNP-10 navigations systems](<https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap1_section_2.html>) or better," the NOTAM stated.

![](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/17/RussianNOTAM1.png>)
*Text of the Notice to Airmen closing off airspace due to a Russian rocket. *Defense Internet NOTAM Service**

The U.S. defense officials did not know which Russian rocket booster was involved. However, the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said a “Soyuz 2.1b launch vehicle with spacecraft on board was launched in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome (the Arkhangelsk Region) on May 17, 2024," [according to Russian media outlets](<https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1791225868955631822>). Still, we don’t know if this latest launch is what sparked the NOTAM and are working to find out more details.

https://twitter.com/SpaceIntel101/status/1791404700882837733

It is not surprising that this notice brought high-interest, given that there was no official word put out about why it was issued and it comes at a time of extreme tensions with Russia. In recent years, Russians have conducted several military operations in the Pacific [near Alaska ](<https://www.twz.com/32552/navy-filmed-russian-maritime-patrol-planes-buzzing-their-arctic-submarine-base-camp>)and [Hawaii](<https://www.twz.com/41229/russian-warships-came-within-34-miles-of-hawaiian-shores-u-s-military-confirms>), including the surfacing of the guided-missile submarine *Omsk* in t[he Bering Sea off Alaska](<https://www.twz.com/36056/russian-submarine-sets-off-alarm-bells-after-surfacing-near-alaska-amid-rash-of-posturing>) in August 2021.

In addition, the warning takes place in a section of the Pacific Ocean known collectively as the [SOCAL range complex](<https://www.twz.com/navy-releases-videos-from-mysterious-drone-swarms-around-warships-off-california>) that regularly [hosts military exercises](<https://www.twz.com/33593/f-117s-flew-directly-over-los-angeles-on-another-mission-off-the-southern-california-coast>), among [other sensitive military tests](<https://www.twz.com/39975/signs-point-to-imminent-debut-flight-test-of-the-air-forces-first-hypersonic-missile>) and [large-scale training events](<https://www.twz.com/air/massive-new-air-combat-exercise-underway-along-the-california-coast>). The aircraft carrier USS *Abraham Lincoln* and other Navy ships are operating in the same general area off the coast of Baja [doing workups for deployment](<https://www.twz.com/38429/watch-flight-tracks-of-contractor-adversary-jets-bum-rushing-a-carrier-group-for-training>).

“*Abraham Lincoln*, flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, is underway conducting integrated exercises to bolster strike group readiness and capability in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations,” the Navy said on a Pentagon image sharing website.

![](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/17/AbrahamLincolnPacific3.jpg>)
*The USS Abraham Lincoln is on a readiness exercise. *U.S. Navy**

So as it sits right now, a wayward booster hurtling back to earth is what mariners and aviators in this large area off Southern California need to be concerned with, not a Russia missile firing exercise.

***Update 2:54 PM -***

The NOTAM in question was removed from the DINS site after this story posted, something which was pointed out to us by Henry Wade, founder of the *[SanDiegoVille.com](<https://www.sandiegoville.com/>)* website. We don't know the circumstances surrounding its removal, but it isn't uncommon for these types of notices to be removed if there is no longer a threat to the area defined in them.

*Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com*

## Author
Howard is a Senior Staff Writer for *TWZ*. He writes frequently about conflict, focusing heavily on the Middle East and Ukraine, and interviews with military and intelligence officials and industry leaders from around the globe. He lives near Tampa, Florida, home of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/haltman>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardaltman/>)