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US Recovering Balloon Debris, Won't Return it to China
Channel News Asia ^ | 07 Feb 2023

Posted on 02/06/2023 1:21:47 PM PST by nickcarraway

The United States is recovering debris from the downed Chinese balloon in the Atlantic for analysis by intelligence experts and there is no plan to give the remains back to Beijing, officials said on Monday (Feb 6).

China says the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose, but the United States says it was a sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle.

"They have recovered some remnants off the surface of the sea and weather conditions did not permit much undersea surveillance of the debris field," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said two days after a US fighter jet shot down the balloon.

(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...


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To: ought-six
They recovered enough of the Challenger orbiter to pretty much reconstruct it.

Physical evidence from a 165,000 lb (when empty) Space Shuttle and two 185,000 lb (empty) SRBs is very different from finding a memory chip from a 2,000 lb (including solar array and batteries) spy package.

And Challenger exploded at 46,000 ft.

41 posted on 02/06/2023 3:20:54 PM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Yo-Yo

“Physical evidence from a 165,000 lb (when empty) Space Shuttle and two 185,000 lb (empty) SRBs is very different from finding a memory chip from a 2,000 lb (including solar array and batteries) spy package.”

Oh, for God’s sake. We can never recover everything because some stuff disintegrated or is simply gone and not recoverable. But we can still recover enough stuff that can tell us a lot about the system China sent over.

You’re being ridiculous, which I suspect is your normal default mode.


42 posted on 02/06/2023 3:27:32 PM PST by ought-six (Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule. )
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To: nickcarraway

Explosive situation.


43 posted on 02/06/2023 3:33:09 PM PST by Mark (DONATE ONCE every 3 months-is that a big deal?)
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To: Yo-Yo

The Air Force popped the balloon. The payload dropped into the ocean and was picked up by the Navy. The same way we retrieve astronaut capsules. You are assuming there is nothing of value. How do you know that? Are you related to Joe Biden?


44 posted on 02/06/2023 3:34:32 PM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: nickcarraway

Weather wasn’t a problem today. I saw 3 ships moving around the horizon at about the correct distance all day today. Still see their lights out there now.


45 posted on 02/06/2023 4:41:29 PM PST by mikey_hates_everything
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To: nickcarraway

“She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)”


46 posted on 02/06/2023 4:44:05 PM PST by RckyRaCoCo (Please Pray For My Brother Ken.)
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To: nickcarraway
How brave after you used a missile on it to destroy any evidence.
47 posted on 02/06/2023 5:12:36 PM PST by dljordan
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To: Cobra64
You are assuming there is nothing of value. How do you know that? Are you related to Joe Biden?

No, I watched the damn video of the thing being hit by a Sidewinder then fall 65,000 feet.

Did you see a nice parachute deploy like an astronaut capsule, Hunter?

48 posted on 02/06/2023 5:24:09 PM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Yo-Yo

The missile hit the ballon which Roman candled. The payload naturally hangs from beneath the balloon. The Navy picked up the payload.


49 posted on 02/06/2023 6:01:17 PM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: Cobra64
The Navy picked up the payload.

Source? According to General VanHerck's briefing today, they haven't been able to dive on the debris field yet because of heavy seas.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3289888/gen-glen-vanherck-commander-north-american-aerospace-defense-command-and-united/

Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Holds an Off-Camera, On-The-Record Briefing on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon Recovery Efforts

So the USS Carter Hall, a U.S. Navy ship under the command and control of NORTHCOM through my Navy component, now the North, Navy North, led by Admiral Daryl Caudle, they're on station in the vicinity of the splashdown, and they've been collecting debris, category -- categorizing the debris since arrival. The U.S. Navy Ship Pathfinder is also on station. The Pathfinder is a ship that conducts survey operations using sonar and other means to map out the debris field. It's capable of conducting oceanographic, hydrographic, bathymetric surveys of the bottom of the ocean to do that. And they'll eventually produce us a map -- they're in the process of doing that, and I expect to have much more today -- of the full debris field. But we expect the debris field to be of the rough order of magnitude of about 1,500 meters by 1,500 meters, and so, you know, more than 15 football fields by 15 football fields. But we'll get a further assessment of that today.

Yesterday's sea states did not allow us to conduct some of the operations that we would have liked to have conducted such as underwater surveillance. And so those forces that provide the explosive ordnance disposal to make sure the scene is safe, they're out today, this morning, and they went out in what's called a rigid hull inflatable boat this morning, Eastern time approximately 10:00 o'clock, to proceed to the -- the area to utilize unmanned underwater vehicles using side scan sonar to further locate sunken debris. And so we expect them to get on there and to do some additional categorization of potential threats such as explosives that may be on, hazardous materials that could be in batteries, et cetera, so we're working very hard.


50 posted on 02/06/2023 6:49:40 PM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Yo-Yo

Thanks for the updates. I had not seen those reports.


51 posted on 02/06/2023 11:44:13 PM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: Cobra64
If you're interested, here's the complete audio of the attack. It's a very good read:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-operation-to-down-chinas-spy-balloon-in-moment-by-moment-audio

And this link is buried in the above article, but this is the accompanying air-to-air audio communications before and during the attack. There were two F-22s and two F-15s, and a NORAD ground controller:

https://youtu.be/bUwvJ_RU2D4

52 posted on 02/07/2023 3:29:01 AM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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