How ‘spy’ balloons that China insists are weather devices work

Beijing confirmed this Monday that the balloon detected flying over Latin America is Chinesewhile the United States tried to recover the remains of a similar device shot down over the weekend in its airspace.

China has expressed outrage over the US decision to shoot down a first probe detected over its territory, which Beijing insists was a weather device that veered off course.

This Monday, Beijing acknowledged that the second balloon that was detected over Latin America over the weekend is also Chinese.

surveillance balloons

Spy balloons are huge, high-rise balloons, each the size of three buses, used as surveillance devices. They provide an alternative surveillance option to satellites, which are at higher altitudes in low or medium Earth orbit. These spy balloons have high-tech equipment attached, including cameras and sensors.

China’s spy balloon entered US airspace. over Alaska on January 28, before flying over Canada and then back into the skies of the United States. Seven days later, an American fighter plane shot down the balloon over the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina, a response that China described it as an “obvious overreaction.”

How do they work?

Spy balloons contain gases such as hydrogen and helium that help them float in the wind, but US officials said this balloon had propellers to help steer it. The Pentagon said the balloon was maneuverable and demonstrated that it could change course.

Spy balloons typically operate higher than commercial airliners or even fighter jets and spy planes. China’s balloon this week was reportedly recorded hovering at about 60,000 feet (11.3 miles), while most commercial planes climb to 40,000 feet. It was detected over the state of Montana in sensitive areas where nuclear warheads are stored.

The surveillance balloons are equipped with ground-pointing cameras, sensors and radar, all powered by attached solar panels, explains the Daily Mail. The sophisticated cameras allow them to take pictures of what’s on Earth’s surface, potentially with powerful zoom capabilities. It is even possible that these cameras can see outside the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared, which allows them to observe at night. “If it’s night, a camera operating in the visible part of the spectrum won’t show you anything, everything will be dark,” said aerospace engineer Iain Boyd of the University of Colorado Boulder. “But an infrared camera can pick up heat stuff in the dark.”

China insisted it was a weather surveillance plane, but according to the US, it was carrying equipment in the capsule below the balloon not usually associated with standard weather activities or civilian research.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained on Monday that the object is for civil purposes and is used for a flight test.

Due to “weather forces and its limited maneuverability, the airship seriously deviated from its scheduled route” and “accidentally entered the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mao Ning. in a press conference.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law,” he added.

“We have communicated with the relevant parties and are handling [la cuestión] properly, and we will not cause any threat to any country,” he continued. (YO)