As more and more unidentified objects are shot down by the US Air Force, experts warn that countless balloons could become potential targets.
The United States will need many missiles if it wants to use fighter jets to shoot down every balloon that causes radar to send warning signals in US airspace. At any given time, there are thousands of balloons above the Earth , including many used in the US by government agencies, military forces, independent researchers and amateur players, according to Paul Fetkowitz, president of Kaymont Consolidated Industries, a manufacturer of high-altitude balloons in Melbourne, Florida. Fetkowitz and other experts say the team of balloons could explain the origin of some of the slow-moving high-altitude objects shot down in the US and Canada in recent days, as John Kirby calls it. , spokesman for the National Security Council.
NASA scientists prepare to release one of 20 balloons on a science mission in 2013. (Image: NASA)
Since February 4, when the United States shot down a large Chinese reconnaissance balloon flying at an altitude of about 19.3km over North America, federal authorities have sought to increase radar and atmospheric tracking equipment to have can monitor national airspace more closely. Balloon experts say the new upgrade could create a series of false alarms.
On February 10, warplanes in the waters of Alaska fired an object as large as a small car, which a Defense Department official said was most likely a balloon. The next day, American F-22s struck a cylindrical object above the Yukon region in Canada, which was smaller in size than a Chinese spy device. On February 12, an octagonal structure with many slings and no equipment was shot down above Lake Huron. The object first appeared in the state of Montana a few days earlier. According to Kirby, all three objects pose a threat to civil aviation, but they do not transmit communications signals.
Fetkowitz is concerned that government officials in Washington may not realize how high the sky is filled with hot air balloons. Each year, about 60,000 high-altitude balloons are launched by the National Weather Service. They fly to the stratosphere, the atmosphere extending to an altitude of 48 km. The balloon used by the Weather Service is designed to fly 32 kilometers, far exceeding the altitudes of four objects detected in the past 10 days, according to the New York Times .
Fetkowitz noted that Alaska, where a US warplane shot down an unidentified flying object on February 10, has more weather balloon launch sites than any other state. The Weather Service’s balloons collect data that keeps passenger jets out of turbulence and helps experts predict powerful storms.
In addition, over the years, NASA, which is conducting a program from Palestine, Texas, has released more than 1,700 large balloons on monthly science missions. The airship flies up to 34 km high, and carries a weight of equipment weighing up to 4 tons, equivalent to 3 small cars. Some balloons are equipped with sensors that detect the state of the ozone layer that protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. Balloon industry experts reveal that DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is testing a new class of high-endurance airships for use on the battlefield, acting as a transitional contact. But Randolph Atkins, a spokesman for DARPA, denied the report.
It’s not just the US that regularly uses airships. Many of the 193 member countries and territories of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, often launch large numbers of stratospheric balloons, some designed for long-term missions to collect data over the sky. Global.
According to Fetkowitz, the weather balloon released by the National Weather Service is designed to explode at the highest point and break into many small pieces of debris that pose no danger to wildlife below. However, some balloons deflate and never fly high enough to explode, so they float downwind. “A balloon dropped in Denver could stray to New Jersey ,” Fetkowitz said.
People who use balloons for scientific, commercial, and military purposes have faced much criticism in the past. For years, environmental activists argued that the exploding balloon fell back to the ground and threatened the natural landscape, especially marine life. Marilynn Mendell, a public relations consultant, found the wreckage of a hot air balloon on the beach in 2016.
However, not every balloon is intended for scientific or commercial use. For example, one customer used a Fetkowitz company balloon to carry a device that played Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” album. Another airship carried a child’s locomotive toy to the stratosphere.
