An air of intrigue envelops Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as safety warnings issued by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency have raised suspicions of a possible Department of Defense (DoD) weapons test, possibly a hypersonic missile, Florida Today reports.
DARPA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This cryptic development, slated for Sept. 6, has been marked by an unusual flurry of activity. Curiously, no active launch providers, including NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance, have any missions scheduled for liftoff during this period.
The FAA sounded the first alarm with a notice to airmen, declaring a temporary flight restriction in the area encompassing NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, stretching south to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and extending east over the Atlantic Ocean. This restriction, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT, explicitly stated that “no pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas.”
Coinciding with this airspace lockdown, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency designated the same region as an area of “hazardous operations” during roughly the same time window. It is worth noting that such warnings are customary ahead of any launch activity from Florida’s Space Coast.
This revelation follows the Department of Defense’s previous attempt, in collaboration with the Army and Navy, to execute a hypersonic missile test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station back in March. That particular mission was regrettably scrubbed due to pre-flight checks.
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