The U.S. Navy might try to shoot down a wayward satellite Wednesday night.

The spy satellite will fall to earth if not shot down. By breaking it into pieces, the Navy could ensure that the bits burn up on re-entry.

CNN reported earlier today: “The U.S. government issued a formal notice warning ships and planes to stay clear of a large area of the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii.” That does not mean there satellite-shooting is definitely on, as this Space News story notes. But it seems likely.

The shoot-down, if it occurs, could come around 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. That’s after the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land, but officials have already said the shuttle would not be endangered by this whole thing.

Watch close, and you might be able to spot the satellite before it’s destroyed.

U.S. President George W. Bush last week approved a Defense Department plan for the shooting the crippled satellite.

Check out Leonard David’s findings about the history of this event. Also, do you know about the only successful satellite kill by an aircraft-launched missile?