If they blew up the balloon, then there goes the equipment that went with it ( which could have given us a treasure trove of intelligence information ).
Most likely was equipped with self-destruct charges to prevent forensic examinations.
The Chinese would have little chance to recover these units after they launch them. They would not want other people to recover them.
I wonder how the command-and-control systems worked for these units. Also how did they send reports back? Maybe our guys can find enough pieces to determine these things.
I have to wonder, would the chicoms really float an easily visible balloon over USA containing sensitive intel? Perhaps, perhaps not; maybe it contained another stash of Uncle Joe’s classified docs.