china balloon travel map

• Topics ›
• Armed Forces of the U.S. ›

The Chinese Spy Balloon's Path Across North America

Chinese balloon.

The debris of a Chinese surveillance balloon is being collected after it was shot down by U.S. military jets off the coast of South Carolina Saturday afternoon. The object had first entered U.S. airspace over Alaska on January 28 and then again over the continental U.S. on Tuesday, Jan. 31. A sighting over Montana on Wednesday afternoon kicked off what became a media frenzy over the weekend as the balloon made its way across the United States.

According to public information collected by open-source intelligence accounts TheIntelFrog and TieDyeIntel, the balloon was sighted in Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina and finally South Carolina, but also likely made its way across the states of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kentucky. It is less likely but also possible that it traveled across Colorado, Iowa or Georgia. Due to the weather on location as well as the very high altitude that the balloon was traveling at – 50,000 to 70,000 feet compared to an airplane at usually 30,000-40,000 feet – it was not always spotted.

Pentagon officials said last week that they decided against shooting the balloon down over land after weighing the possibility of hurting someone with falling debris against any military threat the balloon could inflict by its information gathering, which was put at none. It is therefore still unclear what led to the balloon’s voyage across the United States. Both the U.S. and China have for many years gathered aerial footage of each other’s countries via satellite, a technology that is capable of delivering increasingly high-resolution imagery.

Chinese officials have meanwhile stated that the balloon’s journey was an accident and that is was in fact a piece of meteorological equipment. However, CNN reports that U.S. official have said the they are sure the balloon was designed as a surveillance tool. A second balloon spotted last week by Colombian and Costa Rican aviation authorities is allegedly of the same type, but according to the Chinese was on another accidental flight.

Theories to what the balloon could have been doing over the country include China testing U.S. counter-surveillance capabilities and reactions, as brought forward by ANI and Nikkei Asia. Through the balloon’s flight, China could have found out how and how fast the U.S. is detecting intrusions to its airspace and what its reaction to it is. The second part of this tactic could also include a psychological component. Chinese military planes are also known to repeatedly intrude into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone , soliciting reactions from Taiwan. Russian also has a long history of similar behavior of fighter planes around NATO countries.

Description

This chart shows the approximate path of Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States and Canada between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, 2023.

Can I integrate infographics into my blog or website?

Yes, Statista allows the easy integration of many infographics on other websites. Simply copy the HTML code that is shown for the relevant statistic in order to integrate it. Our standard is 660 pixels, but you can customize how the statistic is displayed to suit your site by setting the width and the display size. Please note that the code must be integrated into the HTML code (not only the text) for WordPress pages and other CMS sites.

Infographic Newsletter

Statista offers daily infographics about trending topics, covering: Economy & Finance , Politics & Society , Tech & Media , Health & Environment , Consumer , Sports and many more.

Related Infographics

Civil rights, majority continues to sideline civil rights, international day for the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition, america divided on the legacy of slavery, left and right agree on biggest issue (but not much else), dissolution of the ussr, how many european countries have gained independence since 1990, world plant milk day, asia leads the plant-based milk boom, dairy-substitute products, where dairy alternatives are a kitchen staple, maritime trade, the world's biggest sea-trading countries, national radio day, radio isn’t dead, china real estate, china's real estate sector in decline, music genres, all that jazz … nobody is listening to, music consumption, which music genres still rely on physical albums, who wants to be a millionaire 25th anniversary, who's glued to the tv.

• Who may use the "Chart of the Day"? The Statista "Chart of the Day", made available under the Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 3.0, may be used and displayed without charge by all commercial and non-commercial websites. Use is, however, only permitted with proper attribution to Statista. When publishing one of these graphics, please include a backlink to the respective infographic URL. More Information
• Which topics are covered by the "Chart of the Day"? The Statista "Chart of the Day" currently focuses on two sectors: "Media and Technology", updated daily and featuring the latest statistics from the media, internet, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries; and "Economy and Society", which current data from the United States and around the world relating to economic and political issues as well as sports and entertainment.
• Does Statista also create infographics in a customized design? For individual content and infographics in your Corporate Design, please visit our agency website www.statista.design

Any more questions?

Get in touch with us quickly and easily. we are happy to help.

Feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form or visit our FAQ page .

Statista Content & Design

Need infographics, animated videos, presentations, data research or social media charts?

More Information

The Statista Infographic Newsletter

Receive a new up-to-date issue every day for free.

• Our infographics team prepares current information in a clear and understandable format
• Relevant facts covering media, economy, e-commerce, and FMCG topics
• Use our newsletter overview to manage the topics that you have subscribed to

Advertisement

China’s spy balloon drifted for 7 days across the U.S.: A Timeline

The balloon brought Americans out to squint at the sky, caused a diplomatic visit to be canceled and opened a political debate.

• Share full article

By Helene Cooper and Edward Wong

• Feb. 4, 2023

The president had been discussing military options with the Pentagon since Tuesday, when he was alerted by the Pentagon that a spy balloon had entered the continental American airspace near Idaho. By Wednesday, the balloon was hovering over Montana, and a full-blown diplomatic crisis was underway.

The arrival — and extended stay — of the balloon over American territory prompted furious calls from senior U.S. officials to their Chinese counterparts, and the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s planned visit to China.

Here's a day-by-day timeline of the balloon’s flight and decision-making in Washington:

Saturday, Jan. 28

The spy balloon starts a controlled drift into American territory, entering Alaskan airspace near the Aleutian Islands. At first it appears to trackers at United States Northern Command to be just another one of China’s light probes around the edges of America’s defensive borders.

Monday, Jan. 30

By the end of the day, it has exited American territory and is over Canada, officials say, carrying its solar panels that power its propulsion and its cameras and surveillance equipment.

Tuesday, Jan. 31

The balloon re-enters the United States over Idaho, to the surprise of officials at Northern Command as well as at the Pentagon.

Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alerts President Biden. The president asks for military options, including the immediate destruction of the aircraft. Mr. Biden also orders that no activities or sensitive unencrypted communications would be conducted in the path of the balloon.

Wednesday, Feb. 1

The balloon makes its way to the skies above Billings, Mont., which alarmed Pentagon officials because the state is home to the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three U.S. Air Force bases that operate and maintain intercontinental ballistic missiles. One Pentagon official calls the balloon a blatant, and poorly concealed, effort at spying.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, in the Philippines at the time, calls a meeting of senior military and defense officials to review options, per Mr. Biden’s order. General Milley and Mr. Austin advise against shooting down the balloon, which has an undercarriage roughly the size of three buses, while it is over land because of the possibility of debris harming civilians and infrastructure.

U.S. officials convey to Chinese officials several times that the U.S. military might shoot down the spy balloon. Mr. Blinken tells a Chinese diplomat in Washington in the evening that the American government has the right to take any actions to protect its interests.

Thursday, Feb. 2

Republican lawmakers and politicians begin criticizing Mr. Biden, after news of the balloon became widespread, for not taking harder action against the balloon and against China, and some demand that Mr. Blinken cancel his trip.

There are reports of a second Chinese balloon traveling across Central America that is headed toward South America.

Friday, Feb. 3

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says that the machine was a civilian weather balloon that had strayed far — very far — off course and entered U.S. airspace by accident. But Mr. Blinken calls it a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.”

Mr. Blinken reiterates his message to Chinese officials in a call to the top Chinese foreign policy official, Wang Yi.

Later that evening, Mr. Biden is briefed about how the Air Force plans to destroy the balloon on Saturday.

Saturday, Feb. 4

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily pauses departures and arrivals at airports in Wilmington, N.C., and in Myrtle Beach and Charleston in South Carolina, which the agency said was meant to “support the Department of Defense in a national security effort.”

One of two F-22 fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base fires a Sidewinder air-to-air missile, downing the balloon, which was flying at an altitude of between 60,000 and 65,000 feet. The military then starts recovery efforts.

By the time it was shot down on Saturday off the shore Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Chinese spy balloon had traversed the country, bringing Americans out into their yards to squint at the sky, causing a diplomatic visit to be canceled and opening a political debate.

Helene Cooper is a Pentagon correspondent. She was previously an editor, diplomatic correspondent and White House correspondent, and was part of the team awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, for its coverage of the Ebola epidemic. More about Helene Cooper

Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent who has reported for The Times for more than 22 years, based in New York, Baghdad, Beijing and Washington. He received a Livingston Award and was on a team of Pulitzer Prize finalists for Iraq War coverage. He has been a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a visiting professor of journalism at Princeton and U.C. Berkeley. More about Edward Wong

Watch CBS News

Biden says U.S. will "take care of" suspected Chinese spy balloon

Updated on: February 4, 2023 / 3:07 PM EST / CBS News

Update:  U.S. fighter jets shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast Saturday afternoon. Read the latest here .

China acknowledged Friday that a high-altitude balloon spotted this week over the U.S. does in fact belong to Beijing, but it referred to the airship as a civilian device "used for scientific research such as meteorology." A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that the Defense Department was "confident" that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon. 

The payload of the balloon — that is, the part under the balloon conducting the surveillance — is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is much larger, according to a U.S. official.

On Saturday morning, when President Biden was asked about the balloon, he told reporters "we're gonna take care of it." 

• Blinken postpones China trip following balloon discovery

According to a statement Friday by the Chinese foreign ministry, the airship was "affected by the westerly wind" and its ability to control its direction "is limited." The statement also says that the balloon "seriously deviated from the scheduled route" and expressed regret that "the airship strayed into the United States due to force majeure." 

After earlier sightings over Montana, the balloon moved along Friday to cross "the middle of the country," according to a U.S. official. A Chinese balloon has never been over the middle of the country before. The only other time a Chinese balloon has flown over the continental U.S. was during a brief overflight of Florida. There have been overflights of Hawaii and Guam. In previous instances, the Chinese have been able to recover the balloon. Although it can maneuver, it will still travel in the direction it is carried by the jet stream. 

The balloon was flying at an altitude of about 66,000 feet, according to a U.S. official. It can be maneuvered but it is also subject to the jet stream, which could eventually push it out of U.S. airspace, the official said.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City tweeted Friday that it had received "several reports across northwest MO of a large balloon visible on the horizon," and noted, "We have confirmed that it is not an NWS weather balloon.

By Saturday morning, Evan Fisher, who studies meteorology, shared a photo of the balloon on Twitter and estimated that it was in the South Carolina area. 

Based on my sighting, I'm estimating the balloon is somewhere over Upstate SC, perhaps closer to the NC/SC border. Assuming it's still flying at 60,000', this is the path it may take to the coast. You have a good chance of spotting it if you're in this dashed oval! https://t.co/j7mW2te8V8 pic.twitter.com/n0H1qPvt1D — Evan Fisher (@EFisherWX) February 4, 2023

The York County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina also tweeted about balloon sightings in the area Saturday and warned residents not to attempt shooting at it themselves. "It's flying at 60,000+ feet. Don't try to shoot it!! Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets," they wrote.

“That’s no moon.” Yes, there are reports that the Chinese balloon is flying over our area at the moment. It’s flying at 60,000+ feet. Don’t try to shoot it!! Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets #YCSONews pic.twitter.com/SeT0ZTUTvy — York County Sheriff (@YCSO_SC) February 4, 2023

There has been some discussion of trying to somehow capture the balloon, but a U.S. official says that this is not possible.  

The balloon is not going to run out of fuel, since it has solar panels. The official also said that the balloon steers by rudder and is corkscrewing around to slow its progress over land, but the jet stream continues to move it on a trajectory across the U.S. The Pentagon is still considering ways to "dispose" of it but has "grave concerns" about the damage it could cause if it fell to Earth.  

Although it's difficult to find a precise definition of how high sovereign air space extends, government lawyers regard this as a violation of U.S. air space.  

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier Gen. Patrick Ryder declined to describe the specific dimensions of the balloon, "other than to say that it is big enough that, again, in reviewing our approach, we do recognize that any potential debris field would be significant and potentially cause civilian injuries or deaths or significant property damage."

The U.S. views the Chinese explanation of the balloon's purpose with "a fair amount of skepticism," and it is still trying to figure out what China's intent was. 

On Friday evening, yet another balloon was apparently sighted, this one further south, in Latin America. 

"We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America," Ryder said in a statement. "We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon." 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken  had been expected to travel to China this weekend for a diplomatic trip, but as the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the discovery of the first balloon, his trip was postponed, two diplomatic sources told CBS News. However, the U.S. does not believe it was timed to scuttle Blinken's trip.  

The U.S. engaged with Chinese officials "urgently," and President Biden was briefed on the situation, a senior defense official said. On Friday morning, a senior U.S. official said that Washington had communicated directly with Beijing about the situation at multiple levels. A Chinese official was summoned to the State Department for a formal U.S. complaint.

Answering a question in Beijing on Friday during a regular briefing, a spokesperson for China 's foreign ministry said the country "regrets that the airship strayed into the United States," which they attributed to a "westerly wind" and the device's limited "control ability."  

• As China builds nukes and ties with Russia, NATO seeks new "friends"

The spokesperson said China would "continue to maintain communication with the U.S. to properly handle the unexpected situation."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley recommended not taking "kinetic action" to bring down the balloon because of the danger of debris hitting the ground, the defense official told CBS News, adding that the U.S. government had determined the balloon does not pose a threat.

A source familiar with the situation told CBS News that, when briefed on Wednesday, Mr. Biden had initially wanted to shoot down the balloon. But as he sought military options from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Milley and others, they advised against such action because of the risk to people on the ground.

The administration was still deciding Friday what to do about the balloon when it reaches an area where it would be safe to shoot down, a U.S. official told CBS News.

Ryder said the balloon is "currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground." 

A U.S. official told CBS News on Friday that the balloon was "not moving very fast."

Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) said in a statement late Thursday that the balloon had been "detected" and that Canada was "taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident," but didn't elaborate on what that incident might be.

However, CBS News has learned the U.S. hasn't been able to confirm the possible second balloon mentioned in the Canadian release.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command was "actively" tracking the first balloon, the Canadian DND said. 

Silos that can house intercontinental ballistic missiles are located in Montana — and jet fighters were scrambled to be in a position to shoot the balloon down.

While incidents like this have happened before, they've never lasted this long, according to a defense official. The U.S. has been tracking the balloon "for quite some time" as it entered U.S. continental airspace a couple of days ago, the official said. 

The Pentagon's best assessment at the moment is that the balloon's surveillance capabilities are not a significant step up from what China is likely able to collect through other means like satellites in low Earth orbit, according to a senior defense official. Out of an abundance of caution, the Pentagon has taken additional mitigation steps to protect certain sites.

There are other ways to deal with it other than shooting it down, such as electronic jamming of the signals it is sending back, a U.S. official pointed out to CBS News.

Ryder said the U.S. government will continue to "track and monitor it closely."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday tweeted that "China's brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent."

"I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing," he  wrote , referring to the bipartisan group of eight congressional leaders who are tasked with reviewing national intelligence information.

China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent. I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing. https://t.co/KarTCUzbOS — Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 3, 2023

A U.S. official told CBS News on Thursday evening the administration briefed Gang of 8 staff members in the afternoon "to get this information to Congress expeditiously and offered additional briefings."  

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said Thursday in a statement that he had "received an informational briefing" Wednesday "on the situation involving a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over Montana," and added that he was "deeply troubled by the constant stream of alarming developments for our national security."

David Martin, Eleanor Watson and Margaret Brennan contributed reporting.

More from CBS News

Japan scrambles fighter jets after China spy plane violates airspace

JD Vance says Kamala Harris "can go to hell" over Afghanistan withdrawal

Supreme Court won't reinstate Biden's latest student loan forgiveness plan for now

U.S. open to escorting Philippine ships amid clashes with China

Chinese balloon drifting toward Middle Tennessee, NOAA map shows

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF/AP) — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying despite China's firm denials. That same balloon is drifting toward Middle Tennessee, according to a map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fuzzy videos dotted social media sites as people with binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it headed eastward over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.

“In light of China’s unacceptable action, I am postponing my planned travel to China this weekend," Blinken said. He had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday.

He said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China's) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

The balloon was detected over sensitive military sites in Montana but had moved eastward over the heartland of the central United States during the day and was expected to remain in U.S. airspace for several days, officials said.

The development marked a new blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations, which have been in a downward spiral for years over numerous issues.

Still, U.S. officials maintained that diplomatic channels remain open and Blinken said he remained willing to travel to China “when conditions allow.”

Get NewsChannel 5 Now , wherever, whenever, always free.

Our gift to the Nashville community

After a week adrift, a surveillance balloon from China has been deflated. Here's what we know about the suspect device and its mission.

• The United States on Saturday shot down a balloon officials said was a Chinese surveillance device.
• The balloon had been spotted floating over the US and parts of Canada this week.
• Below is a timeline of the balloon's journey over the country and what is known about the device.

The United States on Saturday shot down a balloon spotted floating over the nation and parts of Canada this week that officials said was a Chinese surveillance device .

While China maintains the balloon was a civilian airship "used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes," Pentagon officials say it was "being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States."

Though the balloon has since been shot down by F22 fighter jets, it captured the country's attention for days with questions of national security and international relations . Below is a timeline of the balloon's journey over the country and what is known about its mission.

On Tuesday, January 31, a massive, high-altitude balloon was spotted over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the balloon on Tuesday . He was leaning toward taking down the balloon, NBC reported , but Pentagon officials, citing the risk to civilians on the ground, cautioned him against the move and continued to monitor the situation.

The Biden administration faced criticism from  former President Donald Trump and other Republicans calling for the US to shoot down the balloon immediately, but national security experts told Insider that taking immediate action to shoot down the balloon would be " impulsive, " 

The balloon was equipped with a "large payload underneath the surveillance component," Pentagon officials say.

While the exact dimensions and features of the balloon are unclear, it was spotted floating at approximately 60,000 feet — well above the range of civilian air traffic, according to the Pentagon.

Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a  statement emailed to Insider that the balloon had "a large payload underneath the surveillance component," but noted that it presented "no physical or military threat to people on the ground."

Though there were immediate calls to shoot down the device, officials cautioned that it's not that simple , in part because fighter aircraft aren't designed to target balloons.

When a weather balloon went rogue 25 years ago, two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter aircraft fired more than 1,000 rounds at it and  couldn't shoot it down .

On Wednesday, February 1, the balloon made its way across Canada, being spotted in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The government of Canada on Thursday confirmed the device had been in its airspace and was coordinating with the United States military to track it.

Thursday, February 2 was the first time United States officials acknowledged they were tracking the balloon, which had been sighted floating over Billings, Montana.

The United States scrambled a team of F22 fighter jets in response to the balloon sightings over rural Montana, near a US nuclear base housing 150 Minuteman ICBMs .

By Friday, February 3, the balloon had made its way across the central United States, being spotted in Kansas City, Missouri.

As the balloon made its way across the states, over the state of Missouri, officials acknowledged balloon surveillance has been seen from China before.

"It is not the first time that you've had a balloon of this nature cross over the continental United States," a senior US defense official told reporters on Thursday . "It's happened a handful of other times over the past few years, to include before this administration. It is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time this time around, more persistent than in previous instances, so that would be one distinguishing factor."

At least three balloons were discovered over the US during the Trump administration, AP reported . In 1957, China claimed it shot down what it identified as a "spy balloon," though US Navy called it "a weather experiment that had blown off course," according to the  US Naval Institute.  

On Friday, a second balloon was spotted over Latin America, according to Pentagon officials.

A Department of Defense spokesperson confirmed to Insider that the second balloon was of Chinese origins, but declined to give additional details, such as where the second balloon was spotted.

Intelligencer reported the balloon had been seen floating over Costa Rica on Friday.

On Saturday, Colombian officials confirmed in a statement that the balloon had been seen in its airspace hovering at 55,000 feet. The Colombian Air Force followed the object until it left the country.

It is unclear where the second balloon is currently located.

The first balloon ultimately made it to the Atlantic coast, near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where it was shot down on Saturday, February 4.

The balloon was shot down by F22 jets on Saturday after it reached the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

"I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible," Biden said . "They decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water within a 12-mile limit."

Officials are seeking to recover the debris from the wreckage to determine what additional information can be learned from the device. It is unclear what exactly China was searching for with the balloons. 

• Main content

clock This article was published more than  1 year ago

Timeline: A suspected Chinese spy balloon’s eight-day journey

The United States’ dramatic takedown of what it has called a Chinese surveillance balloon started with a few civilian sightings in America’s heartland and ended with a missile explosion over South Carolina so loud that it rattled homes below.

Although it’s not the first time a spy balloon has been spotted by U.S. officials, this latest one has become the center of a diplomatic dispute that could set back dialogue between Washington and Beijing, said John Delury, a professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University in South Korea who recently wrote a book about Cold War-era U.S. espionage in China.

“It’s hard to know how long this is going to play out diplomatically,” he said, noting that Pentagon officials have indicated the balloon would not be more effective for information gathering than a satellite. “But now that this has gotten so big, whatever the intention, the effect is that this pushes the issue of surveillance to the forefront of U.S.-China relations.”

Here’s a timeline of what happened.

Saturday, Jan. 28: The balloon entered American airspace, flying in around the southern tip of Alaska. It then crossed north of the Aleutian Islands and over the state’s mainland. At this point, U.S. officials had not publicly acknowledged the balloon or its presence in the United States.

Monday, Jan. 30: The balloon entered Canadian airspace.

Tuesday, Jan. 31: The balloon floated back into U.S. airspace over northern Idaho. U.S. officials considered shooting it down, The Washington Post reported , but planners couldn’t mitigate the risk to people on the ground.

Wednesday, Feb. 1: The balloon flew over Montana, near Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to several nuclear missile silos. It was spotted by civilians and recorded by Chase Doak, who captured on video from his driveway what he later described as a “big, round disc in the sky” around 5:30 p.m. Billings Logan International Airport temporarily shut down over the balloon, grounding several flights.

President Biden authorized a takedown “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would later say in a statement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken summoned the senior-most official at the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

Thursday, Feb. 2: U.S. officials disclosed to the public that the balloon had been flying over the mainland United States for several days. Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters it was traveling at an altitude “well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Friday, Feb. 3: The balloon was spotted by civilians as it flew over Kansas and Missouri. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the “airship” was a weather balloon that had strayed from its intended course into the United States “due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control capacity,” adding that “China regrets that the airship strayed into the United States by mistake.”

Blinken postponed his visit to Beijing hours before he was scheduled to depart, telling China’s foreign affairs chief that the “surveillance balloon” had “undermined” the purpose of the trip, according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.

In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused some politicians and media organizations of having “hyped” the incident to “smear China.”

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said on Friday that it was tracking a balloon in Canada that was thought to be of Chinese origin. Another Chinese spy balloon was also spotted over Latin America on Friday, the Pentagon confirmed .

What to know about the suspected Chinese spy balloon

Saturday, Feb. 4: The U.S. military shot down the balloon as it hovered over the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast, using a missile fired from an F-22 Raptor. The balloon had been flying about 60,000 to 65,000 feet high. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops for flights in parts of North Carolina and South Carolina shortly before shooting down the balloon.

The same day, U.S. officials disclosed that the balloon’s path had taken it over several U.S. military installations, The Post reported, and that the administration had taken steps to stop it from collecting information that could undermine national security.

China blames U.S. politics for ‘overreaction’ to suspected spy balloon

Video of the takedown shows the missile approaching the balloon in clear blue skies as spectators cheer and shout, “Get it!”

Ellen Nakashima, Alex Horton, Dan Lamothe and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.

China says it reserves right to respond to downing of surveillance balloon

The balloon's flight over the U.S. added tension to the U.S.-China relationship.

A massive Chinese surveillance balloon that moved across the continental U.S. this week has been shot down.

The Pentagon has confirmed the balloon was being used for surveillance, disputing China's claim that it was a civilian aircraft used for meteorological purposes. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon didn't pose a physical or military threat, and once it was detected, the U.S. took steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.

The FBI is expected to take custody of any recovered components of the balloon and ship them to its lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis and intelligence gathering, a senior government official told ABC News.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China as the balloon's presence over the continental U.S. added new tension to the U.S.-China relationship . Blinken called the balloon a "clear violation" of U.S. sovereignty and international law.

Top headlines:

• Feb 05, 2023, 10:08 AM EST 'The whole house just shook': Witness tells of balloon take down
• Feb 04, 2023, 9:53 PM EST US pushes back against China’s weather balloon claims
• Feb 04, 2023, 9:31 PM EST China expresses 'strong discontent and protest' after balloon downing
• Feb 04, 2023, 8:52 PM EST Mayor of Myrtle Beach criticizes balloon downing
• Feb 04, 2023, 5:35 PM EST China has fleet of surveillance balloons, senior defense official says
• Feb 04, 2023, 4:27 PM EST Navy, Coast Guard searching for debris off Carolina coast
• Feb 04, 2023, 4:05 PM EST Balloon had 'intelligence value,' official says
• Feb 04, 2023, 3:52 PM EST Fighter aircraft brought down balloon off Carolina coast: Defense secretary

'The whole house just shook': Witness tells of balloon take down

A South Carolina woman had a front row seat to the military missile strike on a suspected Chinese spy balloon, describing a "loud boom" that rattled her home.

"It literally just flew right over our development, our house," the witness, Liane Munier of Myrtle Beach, told ABC News. "As soon as I walked outside, I literally looked straight up in the sky and it was right above my head."

Munier said it appeared the balloon traveled just offshore when several military fighter jets swooped in and shot it down.

"I was outside, I was watching it. You saw all the fighter jets flying around it and circling it, you saw all the air streams. I think there were about five of them. I went back inside for a second and all of a sudden the whole house just shook that it was like a loud boom," said Munier, who recorded video of the midair episode on her cell phone.

Munier said she initially thought a TV fell off the wall in her daughter's upstairs bedroom, but when she went back outside, she saw smoke in the sky and "you saw the whole thing deflated."

"I knew they were planning on shooting it down, but I didn't think it would be this soon and this close to land," Munier said.

She said it was a relief to her and many of her neighbors to see the balloon shot out of the sky.

"It was nerve-wracking seeing it fly over," Munier said. "I'm sure the whole country felt like that, not knowing what it was."

US pushes back against China’s weather balloon claims

A senior U.S official has pushed back against China's claim that their balloon was simply for the weather and that it was indeed intended for surveillance.

"Its route over the United States near many potentially sensitive sites contradicts the PRC government explanation that it is a weather balloon," a senior administration official said.

The official noted that the suspected spy balloon was also not only operating in the U.S. but spotted over five continents.

"Both balloons also carry surveillance equipment not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research. Collection pod equipment and solar panels located on the metal truss suspended below the balloon are a prominent feature of both balloons," the official said.

-ABC News' MaryAlice Parks

China expresses 'strong discontent and protest' after balloon downing

The Chinese foreign ministry criticized the United States for downing its balloon.

"China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S. using force to attack civilian unmanned airships," the statement said.

The ministry asserted that they told the U.S. that the suspected spy balloon was an airship "for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure, which was completely accidental. China clearly requires the US to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner."

China noted that the U.S. Department of Defense stated that the balloon did not pose a military or personal threat.

"In these circumstances, for the United States to insist on using armed force is clearly an excessive reaction that seriously violates international convention," the statement said. "China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise involved, and retains the right to respond further."

Mayor of Myrtle Beach criticizes balloon downing

The mayor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has criticized the government for its handling of downing the suspected spy balloon.

Mayor Brenda Bethune wrote "While this was done in a manner that ensured the safety of our citizens, I do have concerns about how the federal government can allow a foreign adversary to fly uninterrupted from Montana to our doorstep."

Bethune added that she wanted the government to be more forthcoming about the circumstances surrounding the balloon.

"I hope we hear from our federal government how this happened and how they will prevent this, or anything like it, from happening again," she wrote.

Related Topics

Top stories.

Politician sentenced to life in prison for killing journalist

• Aug 28, 9:28 PM

Rescued: Man allegedly stranded on mountain by co-workers during office retreat

• Aug 28, 12:11 PM

Police in New York county make first arrest under new law banning face masks

• Aug 27, 6:30 PM

Nearly 2-mile high mountain with 20 new species found in international waters

• Aug 28, 9:00 AM

US government report says fluoride at twice the recommended limit is linked to lower IQ in kids

• Aug 21, 5:15 PM

• Biden Administration

The Chinese Spy Balloon Appears Designed to Listen to Americans’ Communications

T he alleged Chinese spy balloon that U.S. fighter jets shot down Saturday was likely capable of listening in on Americans’ communications and pinpointing the location of those conversing on the ground, according to the U.S. State Department.

As the massive white balloon traversed the continental U.S. last week, drifting over several sensitive military sites along the way, it carried equipment that was designed to intercept sensitive communications, said a State Department official, who provided a statement on the condition anonymity to discuss the information.

“It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications,” the official said. “It was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors.”

China conducted high-altitude surveillance missions in “more than 40 countries across five continents,” the Biden Administration alleged Thursday in a new disclosure that shed light on the size and scope of suspected espionage effort that was carried out over several years. “We know these balloons are all part of a (People’s Republic of China) fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations,” the State Department official said.

Although the Chinese government maintains the aircraft was merely a wayward weather balloon, the U.S. official said the balloon’s equipment “was clearly for intelligence surveillance,” which was aimed at conducting “signals intelligence collection operations.”

The new information was collected by high-flying U-2 spy planes that captured detailed imagery of the balloon floating at around 60,000 ft. before the U.S. military shot it out of the sky, while sensors on the planes collected electronic data that emanated from the payload slung underneath the balloon. As a result, the government was able to determine some of the balloon’s capabilities and forensically piece together a picture of past flights over the U.S. and other countries that previously went undetected.

Armed with fresh intelligence gleaned through observing the balloon’s multi-day trip over Canada and the U.S., the Pentagon now assesses that China sent balloons over the continental U.S. at least four times over the past six years during shorter missions that went undetected until one entered American airspace last week. The Pentagon also established that China’s aerial surveillance program, which included balloons of various sizes and capabilities, carried out missions over Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe in recent years, Defense Department spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Wednesday.

Read More : How an Alleged Spy Balloon Derailed an Important U.S.-China Meeting

The State Department determined that the program is run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) because the balloons are manufactured by a firm that has a relationship with China’s military, according to published PLA procurement documents. “The company also advertises balloon products on its website and hosts videos from past flights, which appear to have overflown at least U.S. airspace and airspace of other countries,” the official said in Thursday’s statement. “These advertised balloon videos seemingly have similar flight patterns as the balloons we have been discussing this week.”

Biden Administration officials appeared before Congress for the first time Thursday to answer questions about how the 200-ft. balloon and its alleged spying apparatus, which was roughly the size of a jetliner, drifted across the middle of the country for four days before it was brought down. During the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, lawmakers wanted to know why the balloon wasn’t shot down when it was first spotted above the Aleutian Islands near Alaska on Jan. 28, and then allowed to travel through Canada two days later, and ultimately into the continental U.S. over Idaho on Jan. 31. It became national news Feb. 2 after the Pentagon admitted the alleged spy balloon was inside the country.

“I don’t want a damn balloon going over the United States when we could have taken it down over the Aleutian Islands,” said Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana. “I got a problem with a Chinese balloon flying over my state.”

Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, said the U.S. military wanted to capture the balloon and analyze it. “If we had taken it down over the state of Alaska… it would have been a very different recovery operation,” she said at the hearing. “The water depths offshore the Aleutians… go very quickly, from about 150 feet to over 18,000 feet in the Bering Sea. The winter water temperatures in the Bering Sea hover consistently in the low-30s, which would make recovery and salvage operations very dangerous.”

Read More : Chinese Balloon Wreckage Could Offer Clues Into Years-Long Spy Operation

It remains unclear what information the Chinese were seeking. The balloon’s flightpath took it over sensitive security sites, including a sprawling field in Montana where nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles sit ready-for-launch in underground silos. “We have some very good guesses about that,” Jedidiah Royal, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs said at the hearing. “And we are learning more as we exploit the contents of the balloon and the payload.”

On Thursday, the House passed a resolution condemning China for conducting the overflights, calling it a “brazen violation of United States sovereignty.”

The Pentagon hopes that new information about China’s surveillance practices will be collected from the operation to salvage remnants of the balloon that U.S. fighter jets shot down Saturday off the South Carolina coast. The Navy has sent underwater drones carrying side-scan sonar arrays, as well as an oceanographic survey ship to map out the Atlantic sea bottom and identify every piece possible in the debris field located about 50 ft. underwater. The FBI is assisting in the mission under counterintelligence authorities.

The diplomatic fallout has been considerable , widening the fissures between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon admitted Tuesday that China’s defense minister Wei Fenghe declined a request to speak to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after an American fighter jet shot the balloon. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing on Friday hours before he was set to depart, scuttling an opportunity for a diplomatic détente on shared global challenges.

More Must-Reads from TIME

• Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
• What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
• How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
• The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris
• Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
• How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
• What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
• The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024

Write to W.J. Hennigan at [email protected]

No cameras allowed near balloon launching pad in China’s Hainan island

WANNING, China — There’s a site on this island that commercial satellite images show bears the hallmarks of a balloon facility, including a stone sign with red lettering at the entrance describing it as a military zone.

Nearby is believed to be a launching pad for airships similar to the balloon that flew over the United States and was ultimately shot down off the coast of South Carolina.   

When an NBC News team tried to set up a camera near the facility on Hainan, an island province off the southern coast of China, they were shooed away. Local residents used umbrellas to try to block them from filming. And a police pickup truck with flashing lights arrived  as the news team was departing the area.

The 200-foot-tall balloon that traversed the U.S. this month before being shot down by an American fighter jet on Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina was launched from this island, according to a U.S. official and a former senior U.S. military official familiar with the matter. The Washington Post first reported that the balloon began its flight from the island.

NBC News first reported the existence of China’s spy balloon on Feb. 2 .

Chinese officials say the balloon , outfitted with multiple antennas, was not designed to spy but was merely a civilian weather balloon that blew off course.  The Biden administration dismisses Beijing’s explanation , and says the airship is part of a global surveillance campaign that included previous spy balloon flights over the U.S. and dozens of other countries.

Satellite images captured in mid-January by the commercial satellite company Planet Labs show what appears to be a balloon launch facility on Hainan Island, according to researchers at the Middlebury Institute (MIIS) in Monterey, California, who reviewed the photos.

Researchers could not confirm if the balloon that entered U.S. airspace was launched from the same facility. 

“It is definitely a military facility,” Michael Duitsman, a research associate at MIIS, told NBC News. “It’s been used for balloons at least since 2016.” 

Along with his colleagues who helped identify the facility, Duitsman also found images of the location hosting airships using Google Earth. 

“We also know that that is a facility, because there is a satellite image on Google Earth showing a balloon rigged up at that site,” he added.

The Middlebury team was able to identify the Hainan site as a balloon launch facility in part because of its similarity to another Chinese launch site they found in Dorbod Banner, near China’s northern border with Mongolia. 

“You have a large pad, a large concrete pad in Hainan,” Duitsman said. “In Inner Mongolia it’s polygonal. On Hainan it’s circular. Both of them have a support structure with a small radar unit on top of it, and both of them have another tall building that may be a hangar,” he said.

The 460-foot launch pad also has what appears to be launch equipment visible in the satellite imagery.

“There are radar installations there that are camouflaged,” Duitsman said of the Hainan launch site.

The launch site was expanded sometime from  2016 to 2020, he said.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon declined to comment. 

The findings came as China’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. on Thursday of “escalating crises.”

“The Chinese unmanned civilian airship that strayed into U.S. airspace was completely a force majeure incident,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said at a news conference in Beijing Thursday.

“Nevertheless, it tested the sincerity and ability of the U.S. to properly manage and control crises and stabilize China-U.S, relations,” he added.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would make no apologies for ordering that  the balloon be shot down and called the airship’s violation of U.S. airspace “unacceptable.”  But he also said that he wanted to maintain a dialogue with China and that the U.S. is not looking for confrontation with Beijing.

Biden said he expected to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and told NBC News’ Peter Alexander that he did not believe Xi wanted to “fundamentally rip the relationship with the United States and with me.”

Located in China’s southernmost province, Hainan’s sandy beaches, surfing competitions and posh resorts make it a tourist destination, known as “Chinese Hawaii.”

But it’s also a crucial hub for China’s expanding military, with a large submarine base that includes a cavern tunneled into the side of a mountain and a spaceport for China’s growing satellite network.

Hainan island is headquarters for Chinese naval ships and Coast Guard vessels that operate in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where China has constructed artificial islands with runways and deep ports.

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Wanning; Dan De Luce reported from Washington; Ken Dilanian reported from Los Angeles; Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong; and Aina J. Khan reported from London.

Janis Mackey Frayer is a Beijing-based correspondent for NBC News.

Dan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. 

Jennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.

Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington.

Aina J. Khan is a freelance reporter with NBC News.