A Pentagon official said Thursday that a Chinese “surveillance balloon” was spotted flying over Montana. A Pentagon spokesman said Friday that the balloon is now passing over the central United States and moving east at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. Observers on the ground were able to take pictures and video of the object, and the incident prompted Secretary of State Anthony Brinken to cancel a planned trip to China.
China’s foreign ministry immediately claimed the object was simply a civilian weather station that veered off course, but later on Friday, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder held a press conference to say: said. Surveillance balloon… We know this is a Chinese balloon and it has piloting capabilities. “
This maneuverability exceeds the capabilities of most high-altitude balloons, says John, professor of electrical engineering, law, public policy, and management at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy. Villasener said. “The only balloons I’ve heard so far either go up and down or do nothing. They’re completely at the mercy of the wind,” he says. “But the wording of these spokespersons seems to suggest a degree of control over that. It adds more complexity.” Besides its maneuverability, surveillance balloons are otherwise different from typical weather balloons, according to the Weather Channel. First, despite being in the air for days, weather balloons are typically only up for a few hours. And while balloons in China are about the size of three buses, weather balloons typically span only about 20 feet in diameter.
Scientific American We spoke with Villasenor about why the aircraft’s maneuverability is anomalous and how such surveillance balloons compare to satellites.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
Is it possible to steer or control a typical high altitude balloon?
You can control it, but be aware of its implications. The balloon rides on the wind. The only control function of the balloon is altitude control in some balloons. You can increase or decrease altitude. Altitude can be changed within limits, to the extent that wind speed and direction vary with altitude. And while it can give you some control, it’s nowhere near the level of control you have. [with an airplane]You cannot turn around and go in the opposite direction. Balloons cannot go upwind. You are constantly in motion with the atmosphere that surrounds it.
Given existing knowledge of wind patterns at different altitudes, would it be possible to launch a balloon with the goal of reaching a specific location? Over Montana, etc. Did it detect objects?
Common prevailing wind patterns are well known.probably almost all Scientific American Readers know that it takes longer to fly from East Coast to West Coast than from West Coast to East Coast. It usually flies against westerly winds instead of easterly winds, resulting in longer flight times. These prevailing winds are the same reason balloons launched in China end up in the US, but if launched from Washington state they can’t go west. , you can strategically choose where to fire from and have some control over it. [over where] it will end. But you can’t control it within a mile. If you want it to reach Montana instead of Texas or whatever, you can launch it from a specific location.
How big must a balloon like this be for the Pentagon to pick it up?
It’s not just the size, but what it’s made of. For example, different materials reflect radar differently. How visible it is depends on how big it is, what it’s made of, and the detection technology employed to track it. It’s also much easier to find something if you know it’s there. Part of finding things is knowing where to look. [once] If you have a rough idea of where something is and are looking very carefully, you will be able to track it.
How can the Pentagon determine that it is in fact a spy balloon as opposed to a civilian project for weather research, as claimed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
Take it out of the sky and see what’s on it and you’ll probably have the answer! A weather balloon has sensors to measure things like temperature. A reconnaissance balloon would probably have something like a high-definition camera or equipment to detect electromagnetic signals. So if you actually have physical access to it, you can easily determine if it’s really just a weather balloon that’s gone off course, or if it’s built for surveillance purposes. But if you don’t have access to it, you don’t know how to get that information.
How do balloons compare to satellites as platforms for surveillance?
Balloons are not particularly good platforms for several reasons. One is that you can’t really steer it and even if you’re lucky and have it in place correctly, he’ll only pass the spot you’re looking at once. On the other hand, since the satellite is in orbit, it is spinning round and round. Also, the United States would be completely within its rights…to shoot down a balloon launched by a foreign country…and it was flying in US airspace.Each nation has sovereignty over airspace. But outer space is different. You can launch a satellite and it can fly 150 miles over any other country, but most countries can’t drop it. There is a norm that balloons operate in the sovereign airspace of a particular country, whereas satellites operate in zones accessible to everyone. That’s the big difference.
What are the advantages of balloons?
Distance is important if you’re trying to get a high resolution image of something. For example, if you were in a balloon at an altitude of 12 or 15 miles, it would be an order of magnitude closer to her surface than a satellite. All else being equal, you get much higher resolution, which could be an advantage for imaging from a balloon. This is very poor as you have very little control over where this thing ends up.
When you are at an altitude of 50,000 or 60,000 feet, you can see, but you cannot see. [far]If you’re 60,000 feet above Montana, you can’t see Texas, can you? The balloon is much closer to the surface. So, on the one hand, it’s closer to what you might be looking at, but it has a much narrower view of the Earth’s surface.
The Pentagon says it currently has no plans to shoot down the balloon. why not?
They say they don’t want to hurt people or things on earth.For some reason, they have publicly stated that they chose not to, at least for now. [the balloon] It was gathering, but seemed to suggest otherwise [a threat]China already had satellite-like capabilities and didn’t seem to think ballooning would change dramatically. increase.
What happens to the balloon if it’s not shot down?
Most of the time these things end up somewhere. all You’ll eventually get off somewhere. Where is the problem? It may end up somewhere in the Atlantic, but without more information it’s very difficult to know.
