China Has Plenty of Spy Satellites, So Why Bother with Spy Balloons? – IOTW Report

China Has Plenty of Spy Satellites, So Why Bother with Spy Balloons?

orbital today

China ranks second worldwide when it comes to the number of satellites launched. This is mostly because it has a full-cycle capability, meaning that Chinese satellites are manufactured locally and launched into space on Chinese rockets from Chinese launch sites.

The first Chinese satellite launch took place in 1970, but the country’s launch capability ballooned in the 2010s and keeps on growing. Statista reports that as of January 1, 2022, there were 499 Chinese satellites in orbit, but more recent sources indicate 562 as of September 2022 — a number that has grown exponentially in the last decade alone. With four Chinese launch sites, its heavy Long March rockets, and a steady launch schedule, we can expect this number to grow even further. Observe

Why use balloons for surveillance? The Hill says because they are cheap and hard to detect. Here

I don’t buy it. We need to be asking what kind of data a high-altitude balloon can gather that can’t be obtained from public sources (i.e., readily available weather and ground reports) or spy satellites. – Dr. Tar

25 Comments on China Has Plenty of Spy Satellites, So Why Bother with Spy Balloons?

  1. signal intelligence. About a moth ago chinesse general claimed that China had broken our military encryption then they fly a spy balloon over our bases. Putting 2 and 2 together the balloon was gathering radio, Phone and other signals to decrypt later back in China

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  2. I figure it was a test for several things, a test of America’s patience, a test of politician’s patience, a test of their balloon navigational skills and a little ‘shiny object’ thrown in for good measure.

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  3. There are a lot of radar arrays that won’t work from space. One is I believe called Lidar that has the ability to look through obstructions such as trees and such giving true images of the terrain and objects hidden by the growth.
    Who knows? They’re Chinese and can’t be trusted as they want total control of the world around them. Chinese only believe in China.
    They’ve never had a problem biting the hand that feeds them. Or anything else that moves.

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  4. Practice.

    1 F-22, 1 Aim 9, Days of waiting.

    Imagine if they floated 1000 with incendiary type bombs over Cali Forests in the HOT DRY SUMMER.

    Sickening.

    It should have NEVER been allowed to get through Alaska where it entered.

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  5. Chinese guy goes to Optometrist.
    Optometrist tells Chinese guy he has a cataract.
    Chinese guy starts yelling at Optometrist, “No Cataract, that’s Rincoln, you need glasses”!

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  6. PIVOT TO CLIMATE CHANGE, JOEK IS HOLDING THE CHINKS CLOSE TO THE FLAME, HE’S GOT ‘EM NOW

    WATCH FOR IT

    THESE ASSHOLES THINK WE’RE SO DUMB, LOLOL

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  7. Also good way to evaluate our early warning systems.
    You can bet that thing had all kinds of detectors on it.
    Find the weakest corridor for future uses?
    Test air currents for biological attacks?
    Anything you can possibly think of they most likely already have.

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  8. Wonder what kind of payload the slope balloons can carry. I think if they wanted to carry out an EMP attack they would have to light off a nuke, I don’t see how else they can get a big enough energy source aloft.

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  9. A couple reasons for the balloons. One is just as a test. Too see how the US responds. Second, such devices could be used to deliver some unpleasant cargos to the CONUS/North America. Such as viral agents, or a warhead designed for an EMP. You float balloons like this to test the Jet Stream pattern to see if such an attack is feasible. An EMP attack by missile would trigger launch warnings. One sent by balloon might not be seen or tracked till it’s too late. Plenty of reasons for doing this.

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  10. “China Has Plenty of Spy Satellites, So Why Bother with Spy Balloons? ”

    Because none of their shit ever works.Even if the technology was handed to them by our rat bastard politicians. They are a very stupid people.Zero creativity. And old Joe just gave them Americas ass hole to pierce Because apparently he owes them. I’ll stop there. Way short of what needs to be said.

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  11. I wonder at how easily we accept ANY story from any source, that takes our attention away from the overwhelming stench of THE SWAMP.

    Can anyone tell me what has the new HOUSE majority done other than set up useless committees, and talk about more CLOWNGRESSIONAL investigations?

    WORTHLESS! Clowngress has become a giant litter box of filth.

    Clowngress is like a multi-cat household: the stench is overwhelming.

    Each cat is trying to cover the 💩💩 💩💩💩💩with litter (an ‘investigation’).

    The clowngress persons standing in front of the press are like the cat that tries to cover the 💩💩💩💩💩💩 by scratching OUTSIDE OF THE LITTER BOX.

    All show to stall and divert.

    Where is the ACTION on the border security, election security, run away spending and fraud, re-establishing ETHICS to government and shrinking the behemoth government??

    They have less than two years to at least throw a monkey wrench to STOP the wrecking ball attack on our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

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  12. A tactical nuke can weigh something like 150 lbs.
    I don’t know the balloon’s payload, but that should easily fit. The problem with the EMP is that (to be effective over the entire country) the chinks need to detonate at least 100 of them, in position, simultaneously.
    60,000 ft is a tad over 11 miles, which would give a blast radius of, what? 22 miles, or so? It would take 100 of them to cover the US at that altitude.
    Higher altitude, fewer nukes.
    Nah.
    As Seaoh wrote, probably signals intelligence – though why they’d have to use balloons when they own Biden, Schumer, Milley, et.al., is a mystery.
    The Clintons were selling our ICBM telemetry to the chinks back in the 90s, so you can bet they’ve been getting updates ever since.

    I still think it’s all smoke and mirrors.

    mortem tyrannis
    izlamo delenda est …

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  13. I’d bet my left one that Joey was told they were going to do this and that he told them no problem. He dances to whatever music they play.

    Once it reached the east coast he probably gave them a jingle asking if they got what they needed and when the response was affirmative, he told them that to save face, he needed to shoot it down. The chicoms gave the OK and down it came.

    Happy chicoms, happy demcoms and more lucre for Joe and Hunter.

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  14. have to agree with Different Tim- LIDAR was one of the potential uses of the balloon.
    “Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) is a technology used to create high-resolution models of ground elevation with a vertical accuracy of 10 centimeters (4 inches). Lidar equipment, which includes a laser scanner, a Global Positioning System (GPS), and an Inertial Navigation System (INS), is typically mounted on a small aircraft.”
    With that technology, they would know of underground storage facilities (munitions, etc) and also which in-ground missile silos are ‘loaded’ and which are decoys. That way, they wouldn’t waste nukes on decoys. Data could easily be sent to a satellite for retrieval.
    Also, they could monitor the cloaking procedures that took the military communications ‘offline’ or hid that system and later mimic and alter those procedures to their advantage.
    And don’t forget it was maneuverable. If it was just a ‘weather balloon,’ they could have landed it at any time.

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  15. “just like the Pentagon saying there were 3 chinkanese balloons during Trump
    … yeah, right”

    There were. But the Pentagon never told Trump. General Mattis never told Trump because he thought Trump would retaliate. Mad Dog Mattis my ass. The guy was a Poodle.

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