The Chinese do not have satellites able to operate as directed (move back and forth, hover, etc.) as low as sixty thousand feet with a sensor payload equal to the size of three school buses. No one has.
Probably. Probably everybody does that is interested in that sort of thing. Might be why no one in the U.S. security apparatus ever made a big deal about it befoer. This time a civilian journalist spotted it over a Monatana airport and wondered why no one was concerned about its proximity to an airport and started looking into it.
Previous episodes of Chinese balloons passing over sensitive sites weren't even relayed to the President. Seems like it was regarded as a bit of a snoozer by everyone concerned. Until the public became aware of it and started asking ...what the hell?.......
I guess I'm wondering what balloons can do that satellites can't. If a satellite can read a license plate from space, why does anybody need a balloon? I was wondering if maybe the Chinese satellites can't read a license plate from space?
A satellite can linger in the sense that a constant surveillance of a specific point can be maintained for an extended period even if only by rotating a series of satellites through. However, the kind of satellites you are describing are in short supply because not all satellites have the same capabilities.
There is a heavy wieght government agency that manages the movement and access to satellites for the U.S. security and military organizations. In the movies, people just decide to initiate surveillance of something and it is arranged off screen with no dificulty. There are agencies that get regular access for blocks of time because they have been assigned to them Many satellites have free time in the sense that it isn't blocked for only designated missions. But that does not mean there is a fleet of super capable satellites made availabe full time for on demand requests just in case anything comes up. Even if you are the C.I.A. and have high priority there is stll a hieracrhy of needs within the C.I.A. that must dealt with when requesting utilization of a satellite. Any request of satellite coverage has to be approved and assigned a priority by the agency requesting it. And of course, the available satellite there has to be somewhere near the area to be surveilled.
With balloons, there are no such concerns. The total cost of operation is the ballon itself. There is nobody else complaining about bandwidth hogging. The agency can take its time and in fact keep it secret from other government agencies. Nothing more valuable than the balloon itself is involved. They can take as much time as they want and do whatever they want with it. Subject to the limitations of the balloon and its propulsion system, of course.
I'm sure that President Xi was as shocked as President Biden was to discover that the balloon had been travelling over the U.S. for days. Naturally, that does not mean that their public statements about the incident are genuine. Nor that either one of them is upset about the incident. Other than it becoming public.
Were the security agencies really unaware of the Chinese presence or did they want the Chinese to think they were so they could insert false data into the surveillance area.? Did the Chinese really think this was a gerat way to get reliable data or did they just want to keep the Americans guessing about what they were up to and how important they thought it was? Did anybody really care about it on either side until the public became aware of it and it became a thing? Who knows? But I'm surethe Chinese are enjoying watching all the hair on fire, name calling, finger pointing and the perception of inoompetence for everyone involved on the American side. I suppose the American side will try to draw a little satisfaction from the discomfort on the Chinese side because President Xi undooubtely sent a memo around demanding to know why he wasn't told about it leaving him to be blindsided? No one wants to be the one who has tell him.......well actually, we have been failing to tell you about this program for years. .......
So do the Chinese have really crappy satellites? Is that it?
The Chinese do not have satellites able to operate as directed (move back and forth, hover, etc.) as low as sixty thousand feet with a sensor payload equal to the size of three school buses. No one has.
Are we flying balloons over other nations too? If not, why?
Probably. Probably everybody does that is interested in that sort of thing. Might be why no one in the U.S. security apparatus ever made a big deal about it befoer. This time a civilian journalist spotted it over a Monatana airport and wondered why no one was concerned about its proximity to an airport and started looking into it.
Previous episodes of Chinese balloons passing over sensitive sites weren't even relayed to the President. Seems like it was regarded as a bit of a snoozer by everyone concerned. Until the public became aware of it and started asking ...what the hell?.......
I guess I'm wondering what balloons can do that satellites can't. If a satellite can read a license plate from space, why does anybody need a balloon? I was wondering if maybe the Chinese satellites can't read a license plate from space?
A satellite can linger in the sense that a constant surveillance of a specific point can be maintained for an extended period even if only by rotating a series of satellites through. However, the kind of satellites you are describing are in short supply because not all satellites have the same capabilities.
There is a heavy wieght government agency that manages the movement and access to satellites for the U.S. security and military organizations. In the movies, people just decide to initiate surveillance of something and it is arranged off screen with no dificulty. There are agencies that get regular access for blocks of time because they have been assigned to them Many satellites have free time in the sense that it isn't blocked for only designated missions. But that does not mean there is a fleet of super capable satellites made availabe full time for on demand requests just in case anything comes up. Even if you are the C.I.A. and have high priority there is stll a hieracrhy of needs within the C.I.A. that must dealt with when requesting utilization of a satellite. Any request of satellite coverage has to be approved and assigned a priority by the agency requesting it. And of course, the available satellite there has to be somewhere near the area to be surveilled.
With balloons, there are no such concerns. The total cost of operation is the ballon itself. There is nobody else complaining about bandwidth hogging. The agency can take its time and in fact keep it secret from other government agencies. Nothing more valuable than the balloon itself is involved. They can take as much time as they want and do whatever they want with it. Subject to the limitations of the balloon and its propulsion system, of course.
I'm sure that President Xi was as shocked as President Biden was to discover that the balloon had been travelling over the U.S. for days. Naturally, that does not mean that their public statements about the incident are genuine. Nor that either one of them is upset about the incident. Other than it becoming public.
Were the security agencies really unaware of the Chinese presence or did they want the Chinese to think they were so they could insert false data into the surveillance area.? Did the Chinese really think this was a gerat way to get reliable data or did they just want to keep the Americans guessing about what they were up to and how important they thought it was? Did anybody really care about it on either side until the public became aware of it and it became a thing? Who knows? But I'm surethe Chinese are enjoying watching all the hair on fire, name calling, finger pointing and the perception of inoompetence for everyone involved on the American side. I suppose the American side will try to draw a little satisfaction from the discomfort on the Chinese side because President Xi undooubtely sent a memo around demanding to know why he wasn't told about it leaving him to be blindsided? No one wants to be the one who has tell him.......well actually, we have been failing to tell you about this program for years. .......
That's a great comment Ron, thanks. Very educational. That's more than a comment, that's an article. Got your own substack? I'd subscribe if you do.
Much appreciated.