Is there from a balloon 60,000 feet up?
What was on board? If it Was Exactly and Nothing more than a weather balloon, what would it be Doing? Whaaat? Justin,,, what do you Mean, What was it doing?

Well,, what altitude was it at?

Fill in the blank.


What was the temperature?

What was the temperature of the balloon?

You have solar panels,, you have a balloon, it's frikken Massive, some part of the buoyancy would need to be a lighter than air gas, but if you want to control altitude, you just Might benefit from being able to change the temperature inside the envelope.
I'm betting Someone Else is smart enough to see that. I'm pretty sure America has InfraRed equipment and can measure the temperature inside the envelope.

We can reasonably ,mathematically, approximate the payload.

If we wanted to KNOW,, EXACTLY what was in it..

We Could have.

Instead of one fighter shooting a missile,,??

Take him alive, Sheriff,, we need to talk to him...

Let me get this straight..

Balloon drifts All the Way Across America,, after the decision to Not shoot it down until it is over the Atlantic, and then acting like nobody can get to it until it's been in the water for too long for it to be valuable..

Ooopsies!!
We are just So Dumb..!!

Really?  Dafuqs wrong with people?

At that altitude..


What were the dimensions of the envelope?

Because the volume of the envelope

NORAD chief Gen. Glen VanHerck spoke to reporters in a press call on Monday and faced questions as to why the U.S. did not shoot down China's surveillance craft as it crossed Alaska's Aleutian Islands. VanHerck confirmed that NORAD had detected the craft before it entered Alaskan airspace, but said he "could not" take immediate action because the balloon did not pose a direct threat.

"The domain awareness was there as it approached Alaska. It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America," VanHerck said Monday. "This is under my NORAD hat and therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent."



 Also I don't know if this is true or not but an associate of mine at Quantico said parts of it were there.

 I wonder why they shot this one down but not the others.  Maybe because this one had so much media coverage?  Maybe because of it's structure?  Maybe because it was so far inland?  Who knows.

 As usual this depends a lot on where people get their information.

 I see some sources claiming the balloon is lost in the ocean and the US can't extract anything.

 Then others with photos of the US Navy pulling sections out of the ocean.

 YouTube states the balloon was "lost forever" and then there's this:

Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, told reporters on Monday that he expected the debris field to be as large as "15 football fields by 15 football fields," with a depth of around 50 feet. He added that the balloon was about 200 feet tall with a payload the size of a "jet airliner" and probably weighed a few thousand pounds. "I would remind you that due to ocean currents, it's possible that there may be some debris that does float ashore," VanHerck said.

He added that it was unclear where the debris would be sent to for a final analysis, "but I will tell you that certainly the intel community, along with the law enforcement community that works this under counter intelligence, will take a good look at it."

 So is NORAD lying, or is a guy with zero experience making a video online just ignorant, or trying to gain ad revenue by making high-view click bait content?

 I think they assessed it and concluded it wasn't worth trying to keep intact.

 It's a balloon, not some high tech war machine, or thousands of balloons.  They didn't even bother with the previous ones, they just let them float away.

"But in their infinite wisdom it was worth that missile..
The government makes stupid people look smart.
Starting at the top."

 I don't know more than the command at NORAD about a job I've never done, seen, or had a single minute of experience in, so I assume, from the safety of my home looking at the internet, that my perspective is different.

"I know,, we civilians shouldn't look at things and have an opinion. I'm going to try really hard to wait for someone to tell me what to think,, err,know, believe..
FFS!! Don't Think for yourself and decide something is stupid."


 Civilians apparently shouldn't listen to anything that doesn't reinforce their own opinion either.

 I'm going to go with NORAD Command's reason for not shooting it down earlier.  I think they know more about why they did what they did than anyone else, including me.  

It turns out to be more than a weather balloon.

I don't want to alarm you, but China is testing and developing its weapons system in the skies of America.

China wants to dominate the 'near space' battlefield. Balloons are a key asset.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/09/china/china-balloon-near-spacedevelopment-int
l-hnk/index.html



“Understanding the atmospheric conditions up there is critical to programming the guidance software” for ballistic and hypersonic missiles, according to Hawaii-based analyst Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.

Chinese state media reports show China has also used balloons to test advanced hypersonic vehicles. In 2019, state broadcaster CCTV’s military channel showed footage of a balloon lifting off for what it described as maiden testing of three miniaturized models of “wide-range aircraft,” which according to Chinese media reports, can fly at a wide range of speeds, up to five times the speed of sound.

How is see it is;
Amerika needs a coach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iH47yRY9UM

 Information I received today from an associate that used to work NORAD:

 I don't need to tell you that there's much that the news is not aware of or going to report. I have examined the press release material and can give you some additional information. I will use 6 points like the old days! I do not miss that overtouted Sigma at all. One. The F-22 needs a practical performance application that isn't an exercise. We all know a first "air to air" neutralization on a skyduck is nothing to brag about but a practical is still a practical and the F-22 finally has one that can be disclosed to the public.

Two. It is not a direct threat. End of story. Call me if you know anyone that will volunteer their family to be a potential casualty over a darn balloon.

Three. You were correct about intentionally using an intercoastal waterway for artifact preservation. The South Carolina waterways act as cushion, more than solid land obviously, and are low current, very low if you compare to the Pacific currents it would have landed in at 1ID.  

Four. Your course alteration assessment is correct. Where did you even get that information? The best thing we can do for future interactions is develop a profile and if course alteration can be proven we gain substantial leverage for future engagements.

Five. The AIM9X has smaller directional and stabilizing fins. This was an opportunity for PROVGRD to see if it would be effective at that altitude, something it was not designed for. I remember you saw the contrail and suspected it was not the 120. The 9X was used.


Six. Nobody cared what the suits had to say, especially Big Suit.