Chinese Spy Balloon Flying Over the U.S.

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francisco collazos said:
I'd be curious on how they would be able to control a weather balloon so high in significant windy conditions.
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Mind control probably..:)

Current winds @54K feet is 280@56kts

I know...they are hoping to fly over Wichita and get all the Garmin database info and sell it at a discount on Aliexpress....
 
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francisco collazos said:
Is this balloon controllable?
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Probably, to some extent. Loon (among others) demonstrated pretty good controllability of high-altitude balloons, including navigation and loiter, it seems reasonable to expect that others could duplicate it.

Nauga,
and a tip of the hat to Robyn Hitchcock
 
francisco collazos said:
Is this balloon controllable?
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Define "controllable". Winds aloft can vary in direction, and by traversing up or down, one can often find a slant of wind that'll help take it where you want to go.

If by "controllable" you're wondering if it has a propulsion system that allows it to follow a desired path, I think this is less likely. A propulsion system attached to the "gondola" is just going to rotate the balloon around. There'd have to be an propulsion system on the envelope itself, nearer the center of mass. And keep in mind, it would take a lot more propulsion than you would think. "Lighter than air" does not mean "massless." If you don't believe me, grab a rope from a hot air balloon and try to drag it around.

Ron Wanttaja
 
francisco collazos said:
I'd be curious on how they would be able to control a weather balloon so high in significant windy conditions.
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By varying altitude to find the wind moving in the direction you want to go. It's not necessarily precise, but it has been shown to work in the real world (i.e. not just theory or in a sim or lab).

ETA: From Loon's website:
"Wind patterns in the stratosphere are layered, with prevailing winds at one altitude varying in speed and direction from those at slightly different altitudes. One of the original insights from the Loon team was to take advantage of this variability to “sail” the winds, rather than to fly against them. By designing a balloon capable of ascending or descending to catch a favorable wind, the Loon team could sail through the stratosphere with no propulsion, reaching locations around the world.

To identify helpful wind patterns, Loon used advanced predictive models to create interactive maps of the skies. These maps allowed the team to determine the wind speed and direction at specific altitudes, times, and locations. The team then developed smart algorithms to help determine the most effective flight paths through the varying wind layers. With the aid of these algorithms, the balloons could accurately sail the winds over thousands of kilometers to reach a desired location..."

Obviously if the models (read: forecasts) are off, precise navigation may not be possible, but I was fortunate to see the results of some that were managed very well over long duration and distances.

Nauga,
blown away
 
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Isnt there a chance that the balloon will pop by itself and fall anyways to earth? Isnt it safer to bring it down now before it is over more populated areas? Or will it more likely get a slow leak and fall slowly?
 
Just a hydrazine thruster, nothing to worry about.
 
What would be the total weight of something like this? I hardly think it would be a significant danger for people on the ground.
 
probably full of fentanyl looking for masses of people to sprinkle it on.
 
francisco collazos said:
What would be the total weight of something like this? I hardly think it would be a significant danger for people on the ground.
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It likely has a self-destruct package on it. So whatever it is will scatter over a large area, especially falling 60,000 feet.

*I* don't consider it a danger, but then, I live ~1000 miles west of where it is right now. :)

They'll probably pop it once it reaches the Atlantic. Will probably have lots of assets watching as it happens. You can bet the TLAs want to get hold of what's left.

Ron Wanttaja
 
This PIREP came through the system today:

MCI UA /OV MCI/TM 1630/FL430/TP CE75/WV 30158KT/TB OCNL LGT CHOP 430/RM ISA +3 20 MILES NORTH MCI AT FL500 DERELICT BALLON ADRIFT CE750 .
 
The Chinese claim it ''accidentally'' wandered into US airspace.

Sorta like when the US ''accidentally'' bombed the French embassy in Libya during a retaliatory attack...

''Ooops.... was that your embassy.?? So sorry but our pilots were a little tired when they reached their objective. They might not have been so tired if they could have flown through your airspace instead of around it...''

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-bombs-libya
 
WIthin the industry, it's widely known the Chinese do their Chemtrail dispersion via balloon - so we know what's in it (or was in it).

Only question is how did it get this far?
 
Obviously they didn't shoot it down when it was over unpopulated areas. There might be a reason. We'll never know it.

But the official line about the balloon not being a threat is pure BS. Even surveillance threatens national security. But if we allow balloons to cross over missile sites unmolested, how long will it be until one of those balloons is carrying a warhead? If we allow ballons to cross over populated areas, how long will it be until one of those balloons is carrying anthrax or some other biochem weapon?

And what is the message to other enemy nations? The US has already shown it's unwilling to defend its land borders, and now it's unwilling to defend its airspace.

If the balloon is steerable, that means it can be commanded to climb or descend to find favorable winds. That further means it can be brought to the ground in a controlled descent. So why aren't we demanding that China bring it down? We could graciously offer to return their errant "weather balloon" once it's down.

This whole thing reeks.

I'm pretty disgusted.
 
Matthew said:
View attachment 114568

We’re putting a lot of taxpayer dollars into watching this thing.
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That’s actually the one platform you do want watching it. There’s only two airframes in the world though.

Cobra Ball is the other and there’s only three of those airframes.
 
Taken over Washington, MO:

FoEpYEWWAAUq1I8.jpg
 
TCABM said:
That’s actually the one platform you do want watching it. There’s only two airframes in the world though.

Cobra Ball is the other and there’s only three of those airframes.
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There's a lot of intersting stuff to read out there about the RIVET and COBRA families of RC-135. Especially interesting are the Rivet Amber and Rivet Ball missions out of Shemya. Cool stuff, Rivet Amber was a very special and intersting aircraft.
 
I would think shooting it down would be overkill. Why not just have an F-15 perform a high speed pass? I bet the balloon would collapse and it would fall. Or, fly by and pop a few flares. I bet that would do the trick too.
 
Oh my....

kaboom-earth-shattering.gif
 
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