Military says high-altitude balloon detected over Western U.S. doesn't pose a threat
www.cbsnews.com
The U.S. is tracking a small, high-altitude balloon that is drifting across the country but poses no threat to national security, the military said Friday.

Military tracking high-altitude balloon flying over Western U.S.::The U.S. is tracking a small, high-altitude balloon that is drifting across the country but poses no threat to national security, the military said Friday.

  • sramder@lemmy.worldEnglish
    43·
    9 months ago

    …NORAD will continue to track and monitor the balloon," NORAD said in a statement. “The FAA also determined the balloon posed no hazard to flight safety.”

    One U.S. official told CBS News the balloon was expected to be over Georgia by Friday night. The official said the balloon appeared to be made of Mylar and had a small cube-shaped box, about two feet long on each side, hanging below it. Its origins and purpose remain unknown.

    Also the FAA: If you want to fly your DIY drone at a local park we’d really appreciate if you put a GPS transponder on it and register your name/address with us….

    • You999@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      11·
      9 months ago

      Bit of a size difference thought… The payload might be small however the balloon portion is not making it easy for the FAA to track unlike your consumer drone that’s the size of a bird.

      • sramder@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        They did say it had a 2 foot by something box dangling beneath it… I’m assuming they’re calling it safe because it’s above some standard altitude.

        Don’t actually know anything about radar tracking or high altitude ballooning :-)

  • linearchaos@lemmy.worldEnglish
    251·
    9 months ago

    You can’t tell me they didn’t work out a plan the last time this happened. Deflate it slowly with a laser, tow it to a secure area with a drone and reverse engineer it. Seems like a solvable problem.

  • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    It seems to me that if we have the tech to detect high-altitude balloons in the first place, we also have the tech to determine when they came into our airspace. A balloon launch from US soil will be easily distinguishable from one that came across the ocean or across the border.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    3·
    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The developments come one year after tensions between the U.S. and China ratcheted to new heights after a Chinese balloon carrying sophisticated spying equipment flew over the continental U.S. for several days.

    The Chinese foreign ministry claimed that the balloon was meant to collect weather data and had “deviated far from its planned course” due to high winds.

    The spy balloon became a political headache for President Biden, who faced criticism from Republicans over his decision to allow it to transit over the U.S. for nearly a week before ordering it shot down.

    Though the Pentagon eventually concluded the balloon did not transmit information back to China, its presence put the U.S. military on high alert for other objects in U.S. airspace.

    The Chinese spy balloon became a major diplomatic point of contention between the U.S. and China, prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing in February 2023.

    Blinken eventually made the trip in June to try to soothe rising tensions over a number of issues, including the balloon and the Chinese military’s assertiveness in the South China Sea.

    The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 184 words. Saved 56%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!