"Biden took a significant amount of criticism — mostly from Republicans but some from Democrats as well — when he let the original balloon float across the Midwest before shooting it down over the east coast."
If Biden had the balloon shot down over, say, Montana, what would happen to the debris that fell to earth? And no, the "what if hit a cow" response is just hilarious.
Let's look at what might have happened if the balloon was shot down somewhere over the Mid West United States.
There'd be a small army of folks with four-wheelers (or snow machines) arriving on site first. The local citizens would own the debris field. And these are folks that wouldn't exactly roll out the red carpet for a small army of military and FBI personnel. I'd wager that you'd see bits of the balloon on eBay before the military/FBI could arrive on the scene.
Instead, the military shot the balloon down over a shallow bit of ocean just of our coast. That means that the Navy and Coast Guard would own the space. There are a lot of treasure hunters and recreational divers operating in the shallow waters off of the Carolinas. But those outfits would have to gear up for the hunt. That delay buys the military time enough to lay claim to whatever debris can be easily found. The Coast Guard already has boats in the water and would be able to quickly chart a course for the debris field.
I haven't seen this scenario floated (sorry) anywhere but I'd bet lunch that the ability for our military and security services to own the debris field figured into this decision.
Umm, with respect for your reasoned perspective I would agree to a certain extent, Chris but most people recognize that surveillance has been an ongoing issue for likely 50 yrs. or more & Americans should be more concerned with the 'homegrown' variety.
The metallic octagonal device shot down was probably a solar powered ion thruster. Octagonal? The octagon is made up of 8 triangles where a circular object would have pie shaped arcs components and it would not be as as stiff. The aluminum foil construction would make it a great radar reflector so it would be very easy to detect with radar. The strings might be there to keep it oriented right side up and may actually be rigid and lightly weighted so gravity would keep it upright , that is how I would design it. They might also enhance the drive force if they were charged . More distance from charged plates equals more drive force. Any payload it could carry would be too small to be useful as a spying device I think. Some Science Fair project that was too good? If it was first lifted by a balloon would then the natural radiation and ionization at high altitude actually power such a device without a battery or solar cells. I dunno.
the different fighter pilots who observed the same object can't agree on what it looked like. DoD & intelligence community spent a couple days examining the Chinese balloon (electronically and other ways) as it flew across the country-- should they be telling China just what their capabilities are/are not? For the press and politicians to ask the who, what, where questions is good. Demanding that Biden immediately provide the answers to questions that are unknown is just absurd; and fosters greater lack of faith evven as the press plays the "why don't they say" card in the same reporting as they report the "nobody knows yet" facts. Ugh
"Biden took a significant amount of criticism — mostly from Republicans but some from Democrats as well — when he let the original balloon float across the Midwest before shooting it down over the east coast."
If Biden had the balloon shot down over, say, Montana, what would happen to the debris that fell to earth? And no, the "what if hit a cow" response is just hilarious.
Let's look at what might have happened if the balloon was shot down somewhere over the Mid West United States.
There'd be a small army of folks with four-wheelers (or snow machines) arriving on site first. The local citizens would own the debris field. And these are folks that wouldn't exactly roll out the red carpet for a small army of military and FBI personnel. I'd wager that you'd see bits of the balloon on eBay before the military/FBI could arrive on the scene.
Instead, the military shot the balloon down over a shallow bit of ocean just of our coast. That means that the Navy and Coast Guard would own the space. There are a lot of treasure hunters and recreational divers operating in the shallow waters off of the Carolinas. But those outfits would have to gear up for the hunt. That delay buys the military time enough to lay claim to whatever debris can be easily found. The Coast Guard already has boats in the water and would be able to quickly chart a course for the debris field.
I haven't seen this scenario floated (sorry) anywhere but I'd bet lunch that the ability for our military and security services to own the debris field figured into this decision.
yup to all of this
Umm, with respect for your reasoned perspective I would agree to a certain extent, Chris but most people recognize that surveillance has been an ongoing issue for likely 50 yrs. or more & Americans should be more concerned with the 'homegrown' variety.
Like most things, this too shall pass........
The metallic octagonal device shot down was probably a solar powered ion thruster. Octagonal? The octagon is made up of 8 triangles where a circular object would have pie shaped arcs components and it would not be as as stiff. The aluminum foil construction would make it a great radar reflector so it would be very easy to detect with radar. The strings might be there to keep it oriented right side up and may actually be rigid and lightly weighted so gravity would keep it upright , that is how I would design it. They might also enhance the drive force if they were charged . More distance from charged plates equals more drive force. Any payload it could carry would be too small to be useful as a spying device I think. Some Science Fair project that was too good? If it was first lifted by a balloon would then the natural radiation and ionization at high altitude actually power such a device without a battery or solar cells. I dunno.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a8889/ion-thrusters-from-science-fair-experiment-to-aircraft-engine-15326499/ or search for "Ion Thrusters: From Science Fair Experiment to Aircraft Engine? in Popular Mechanics.
Instant gratification! I need to know immediately everything about something that happened seconds ago!......
We should all realized that figuring out ANYTHING takes at least a couple of hours...
And from what I understand, they haven't even located any of the 3 new objects wreckage...
So would you rather hear wild theories or something based, at least, on some facts..
I can wait..
Totally agree... seems like a whiff to not take the easy layup and claim victory over the balloons!
Agree Chris...seems like the prudent thing
Agreed
the different fighter pilots who observed the same object can't agree on what it looked like. DoD & intelligence community spent a couple days examining the Chinese balloon (electronically and other ways) as it flew across the country-- should they be telling China just what their capabilities are/are not? For the press and politicians to ask the who, what, where questions is good. Demanding that Biden immediately provide the answers to questions that are unknown is just absurd; and fosters greater lack of faith evven as the press plays the "why don't they say" card in the same reporting as they report the "nobody knows yet" facts. Ugh
I am curious but am not overly worked up about it.
Calm down. You want instant answers or long term solution??? You must be republican 🙄 😵💫🙂 cheers.