South Pacific ships get satellite debris warning

New Zealand’s maritime safety authority warned ships in the South Pacific today to be on the lookout for falling satellite debris as the US attempts to shoot down a crippled spy satellite.

The warning was passed on by Maritime New Zealand after US authorities said their destruction of the highly classified satellite will be accompanied by a “tiny possibility” of the strike misfiring.

The US Navy is expected to fire a $10m three-stage SM-3 interceptor missile and wants ships and aircraft to stay clear of a large area of the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii.