next we hear that the bottlecap balloon brigade may be a terrorist organization.

lousubcap said:

I'm in the camp that the above article is on to the source, especially since there has been no official video release and you know it exists.  This is devolving into "Ready, Fire, Aim."

kinda dangerous to fly an f22 into a balloon when we can safely nuke it from a sub

paqman said:

Well… I’m part of a a hobbyist group and some of the members are into pico balloons.  Basically balloons that are equipped with go pro cameras, gps, ham radio emitters, etc.  This is exactly what the article you posted is talking about.

One day, I may have a funny story to tell.

This site for a local guy is mostly french but if you scroll down there are a couple of pictures.
https://stratos-x.org/

What post apocalyptic wasteland does your club have their clubhouse at?  Looks like a collapsed tower on the background.

U2 pilot's "Selfie" with the Chinese balloon
 
The article states that "The flying object’s ability to starkly change direction led many to question those claims. "  I've seen that referred to a few times, was it actually a propelled dirigible?  

lousubcap said:

Related by a bit of history on a U-2 flight from 1960 (yep-that plane has been around a while) that became quite a diplomatic $hitstorm:

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/u2-incident  

Great refresher, thanks Cap'n!  
 
I have a bit of history with the updated version of the U2, called the TR-1.  My first assignment as a shiny new AF Lieutenant was to the Electronic Warfare SPO, and I worked on the Precision Location/Strike System, or PLSS.  It involved three TR-1s with Phased-Array radars along their noses, doing back-n-forth orbits along the Iron Curtain.  Using triangulation results with 9 ground transmitters in free Europe, that data was sent back to a single station, nine trailers worth of electronic racks, which then transmitted coordinates back to the TR-1s, which transmitted them to F-16s to direct them to the targets.  
 
Today, you can do exactly the same thing with global GPS, and a free app on your cellphone.  Damn I'm old...  I was the Reliability Engineer for PLSS, and that was the metric that the system kept failing; the TR-1 systems kept failing at altitude, but it wasn't because of cold, nor atmospheric pressure.  We finally figured out it was corona effects from the Sun!  Some special reflective foil across the electronics fixed everything, and the Reliability Growth charts followed exactly what the textbooks predicted (we were just getting Zenith Z-100 computers at that time, and not having to do it with calculators, pencils and graph paper anymore).  Damn I'm old...
 
I also got to sit on a bus pretty close to a runway at Beale AFB, and watch a TR-1 take off.  It balances on two inline wheels, with two outrigger "training wheels" under the wings, which fall off during takeoff (when it lands, two pickup trucks zoom up on it during landing to grab the wingtips, no kidding!) We also got to see an SR-71 Blackbird take off from the same position.  It stopped pretty close to the bus, locked its brakes, and then ran up each engine singly to full throttle; LOUD!!  They couldn't run both engines up at the same time, the jet would drag its locked tires down the runway.  It took off, LOUD!!, and soon was a black triangle with two white-hot dots behind it, got smaller and smaller, and it was gone!  Very impressive, I'll never forget that.  

I'll just leave this link here for those interested:
https://www.historynet.com/sr-71-blackbird-sets-london-to-l-a-speed-record/

When I started working for Martin Marietta Corporation, just before they were absorbed by Lockheed,  we used to get the Lockheed Horizons magazine. I can't find my copy but I do recall a pretty interesting article on the SR71 story. 

dbCooper said:

Many credit Clarence "Kelly" Johnson with bringing the U-2 and SR-71 to fruitation, it's deserved credit.  If curious about the man there's a brief synopsis here...

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/johnson.html

His autobiography is a fascinating read.

@Botch - what a great experience to see a SR-71 in action.  Wow!

A friend of mine worked at Lockheed on special projects.  He has stories about a "Kelly" who was involved in all manner of things.  Said this guy always came around even after he was retired.  My friend always talks about him with reverence.  I wonder if it is this "Kelly"?

@Botch thank you for sharing, you have definitely been involved in some absolutely amazing and world defining projects!!

@kl8ton - Thank you for posting the above link. The SR-71 was truly incredible. The pilot's story even more  so. 

@kl8ton -  Really enjoyed the presentation.  Thank you for posting that here.  What we can do as a country when united!  Another great reminder.

To revive the old balloon thread here's an article published today regarding China's airship and balloon programs that I thought some might find interesting...

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/airship-spotted-outside-giant-secretive-hangar-in-china

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/sr-71-pilot-brian-shul-famous-for-his-ground-speed-check-story-passed-away-while-giving-a-speech-about-the-blackbird/amp/