A flight of the U.S. Air Force to Antarctica was diverted to New Zealand due to a warning about dangerous space activity.

A flight of the United States Air Force, departing from Christchurch, New Zealand, returned after a warning issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) regarding potentially dangerous space activity.

The warning, known as a NOTAM, was issued after the Russian State Corporation for Air Traffic Management notified the New Zealand agency about a planned rocket launch. The CAA emphasized that this activity could pose a danger to international airspace in New Zealand's Oceanic Flight Information Region, a vast area of 30 million square kilometers.

The military C-17 Globemaster III flight took off on Tuesday morning and returned to Christchurch approximately 150 minutes after takeoff. This mission is part of the annual Winter Fly-in (WINFLY), when flights to research stations in Antarctica are resumed.