Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana?

[Bullbrl]

China has confirmed it’s theirs

 

[hank4elk]

It's been listening to Randy's podcast and will then head south along the Rockies in the jetstream to Tejas where it will check on Rogan then up and out over DC to pick up all the secured documents that are floating around...

 

[Straight Arrow]

China says the balloon "accidentally" strayed. Nothing accidentally strays over Montana!

 

[westbranch]

I blame Yellowstone.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

The Chinese are liars, but there's something about the story that just seems silly. It is true that they have satellites, but many sensors don't function through the atmosphere very well. Most of the higher resolution imagery you see in OnX or Google Earth, when you zoom in, was acquired by airplane for just that reason.

Surprised a citizen with a drone hasn't gone up there an pestered it.

Balloons also allow you to monitor "patterns of life" and signals/electronic intelligence over time which provide a much deeper insight than a snapshot. It also allows you to identify critical nodes that may not be apparent in a still photo, but are revealed once you can aggregate patterns.

 

[Nameless Range]

Balloons also allow you to monitor "patterns of life" and signals/electronic intelligence over time which provide a much deeper insight than a snapshot. It also allows you to identify critical nodes that may not be apparent in a still photo, but are revealed once you can aggregate patterns.

It kind of makes me think of this podcast, now 8 years old. I remember listening to it and being kind of blown away by the concept. It's essentially one way time travel.

"In 2004, when casualties in Iraq were rising due to roadside bombs, Ross McNutt and his team came up with an idea. With a small plane and a 44 mega-pixel camera, they figured out how to watch an entire city all at once, all day long. Whenever a bomb detonated, they could zoom onto that spot and then, because this eye in the sky had been there all along, they could scroll back in time and see - literally see - who planted it. After the war, Ross McNutt retired from the airforce, and brought this technology back home with him. Manoush Zomorodi and Alex Goldmark from the podcast “Note to Self” give us the low-down on Ross’s unique brand of persistent surveillance, from Juarez, Mexico to Dayton, Ohio. Then, once we realize what we can do, we wonder whether we should."

Eye in the Sky

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter flash. But should he?

radiolab.org

 

[Mallardsx2]

I wonder how someone goes about capturing a balloon that high in a safe manner as to not allow it to release any kind of chemical weapon?

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

It kind of makes me think of this podcast, now 8 years old. I remember listening to it and being kind of blown away by the concept. It's essentially one way time travel.

"In 2004, when casualties in Iraq were rising due to roadside bombs, Ross McNutt and his team came up with an idea. With a small plane and a 44 mega-pixel camera, they figured out how to watch an entire city all at once, all day long. Whenever a bomb detonated, they could zoom onto that spot and then, because this eye in the sky had been there all along, they could scroll back in time and see - literally see - who planted it. After the war, Ross McNutt retired from the airforce, and brought this technology back home with him. Manoush Zomorodi and Alex Goldmark from the podcast “Note to Self” give us the low-down on Ross’s unique brand of persistent surveillance, from Juarez, Mexico to Dayton, Ohio. Then, once we realize what we can do, we wonder whether we should."

Eye in the Sky

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter flash. But should he?

radiolab.org

You hit the nail on the head, it was called the "Unblinking Eye". With patience you could track the little fish back to the bigger ones.

 

[D4570]

Maybe SpaceX can make a fly-by and snatch it and bring it back...

 

[Stocker]

This is the exact reason US citizens should be able to own AA guns and surface to air missiles.


SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!

 

[MarvB]

I blame Yellowstone.

Xactly! I think it’s Beth looking to drop an anvil on Jamie…akin to the old roadrunner vs coyote days!

 

[Finnman]

Probably testing out a way to deploy the next virus.

 

[MTGomer]

Probably testing out a way to deploy the next virus.

Oh don’t be so conspiratorial. They’re probably just using it pick up NIH development funding.

 

[Stocker]

Just gonna drop some more cash to Hunter.

 

[MThuntr]

I sent like 5 rounds from my 6.5 Creedmoor knowing it's ultra ballistics would take care of it but my dope charts failed to account for stratosphere air density so I missed by like 1 MIL. I'll do better next time

 

[6mm Remington]

Shoot it down once it's over the ocean.

 

[lastlight]

Just another adult onset hunter tech dork escouting for the gram how to video

 

[madtom]

You hit the nail on the head, it was called the "Unblinking Eye". With patience you could track the little fish back to the bigger ones.

The balloon makes total sense for these uses in a place where the locals have limited ability to detect or do anything about the balloon (e.g., Afghanistan).

Doesn’t it seem odd to purposely send conspicuous surveillance equipment to the US and expect it to perform without detection or interception?

 

[pabearhunter]

China has a new weapon to destroy the U.S. they call it joe.

 

[noharleyyet]

China is claiming prevailing winds and limited steering capabilities.