Tobias Hase/Photo Alliance via Getty Images
US officials confirmed Thursday that a high-altitude balloon launched by the Chinese government days ago is flying over the northern United States. This has since become an international incident, prompting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to postpone a high-profile visit to China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
Balloon flight raises some questions, such as what the balloon is doing there. This story covers what is known and what is not known about flight. The information below is based on official statements, other news reports, and interviews with stratospheric balloon expert Andrew Antonio. Andrew Antonio’s company, Urban Sky, is developing the world’s first reusable stratospheric balloon for remote sensing.
How big is the balloon?
This information is not known exactly. Some media reports suggest it’s about the size of “three school buses.” It’s obviously a very large balloon, but much larger than those normally used to collect data for meteorological purposes.
How high were you flying?
About 60,000 feet, according to the Pentagon. This is in the lower stratosphere, but above the protected airspace of commercial airliners. Despite being above commercial airspace, the United States still considers this area of the atmosphere above its borders a sovereign airspace. It starts at 328,000 feet (or 100 km) and is far below outer space in no universe. nation.
where was it going?
The balloon was spotted over Montana on Thursday, but appears to have drifted further southeast. Kansas skyon friday.
what was it doing?
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the balloon flight over the United States was an accident. Subjected to westerly winds and limited self-steering capabilities, the airship deviated significantly from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets that the airship unintentionally entered US airspace due to force majeure,” the statement said.
The true purpose of the balloon, whether this or something else, is currently unknown. But again, given the balloon’s size, it’s possible the balloon wasn’t used to collect weather data.
What other reasons are there for big balloons to be in the stratosphere?
The obvious and probably correct answer is spies. Of course, like the United States, China also has excellent observation satellites in low earth orbit. But Antonio says stratospheric balloons have some key advantages. A stratospheric balloon can maintain its position for hours, days, or even weeks by rising and falling in the atmosphere. This provides high-resolution imagery with persistence unmatched by satellites at a much lower price. For example, Urban Sky is developing a small stratospheric balloon that can be used to monitor the progress of wildfires and efforts to contain them.
So did the Chinese launch this balloon to directly spy on the US?
Probably not. The Chinese would have known that sending a clearly observable balloon into the heart of the United States would be a provocative act, and it is unlikely that they did so on purpose.
Antonio believes the most likely scenario is that the termination mechanism used to unload the balloon at the end of the desired flight time has failed. Stratospheric balloons usually have one or more back-up termination mechanisms, but a technical problem explains why a balloon launched in China days or weeks ago ended up adrift in the United States. be explained. (The Chinese government may not want to publicly admit this technical failure.) Prevailing currents in the stratosphere The Chinese government seems to support this theory of drifting balloons that have lost control.
Antonio said the balloons are only used for espionage purposes during the summer. This is because winds across the stratosphere are much more uniform in the northern hemisphere during winter. This means that raising and lowering the balloon is almost impossible to steer. “Controlled stratospheric flight is a problem, but it’s not really something you can do over the United States at this time of year,” Antonio said.
Some photos showed large solar panels. what are they for?
They are likely used to power on-board equipment such as powerful cameras and telescopes, as well as the mechanism for raising and lowering the balloon, if one is on board.
If this was a spy balloon, what could we see in Montana?
The state has several air force facilities with nuclear capabilities, but none of the information collected by the balloon is yet collected by satellite. I don’t think there is any advantage. This lends more credence to the idea that it strayed off course, possibly due to a failure of the exit system.
Does the US military have strategic capabilities in the stratosphere?
yes. Working with companies such as World View and Aerostar, the US military is funding the development of his so-called ISR. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in the stratosphere. Urban Sky has no military contracts for this type of service, Antonio said.
So what does this mean?
Space has become increasingly militarized in recent years. So it’s no big surprise to see such capabilities being developed even in the stratosphere, which sits above the troposphere and extends tens of kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
