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re: Remember the Chinese Balloon
Posted on 1/28/26 at 6:32 pm to winkchance
Posted on 1/28/26 at 6:32 pm to winkchance
quote:
Can you imagine 1938 and a German U-boat off the east coast is coming ashore using local land lines and the media saying we know whose phones were used but those are our sources and we must protect them?
Supposedly during WWII, Louisiana shrimpers supplied Nazi U boats off the coast…anything is possible.
1
Posted on 1/28/26 at 6:48 pm to ElderTiger
Q covered the ballon thoroughly
Trump claiming he was a post 9/11 hero was swept away
Trump claiming he was a post 9/11 hero was swept away
Posted on 1/28/26 at 7:08 pm to winkchance
@grok, what did that Chinese Spy Balloon see that a satellite couldn’t?
What could it see/gather that satellites couldn’t (or not as effectively)?
Official US assessments (from the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community) concluded the balloon had limited additive value over what China could already get from its extensive satellite network — meaning it wasn’t a game-changer, and much of the data was comparable to satellite capabilities. However, balloons offer niche advantages in certain scenarios:
• Longer dwell/loiter time over a specific area: Low-Earth orbit satellites zip by in minutes (their passes are predictable and short), while a balloon can hover or slowly drift over a target for hours or days, allowing sustained monitoring without gaps.
• Closer proximity to the ground: Operating at ~60,000 feet (stratosphere) vs. satellites at hundreds of miles up, it could potentially get higher-resolution imagery or stronger signals for certain frequencies (e.g., short-range communications, lower-power emissions, or finer details that atmospheric interference weakens from orbit).
• Better collection of certain signals: Closer range helps with intercepting weaker or line-of-sight electronic signals (e.g., from weapons systems, radars, or base communications) that might be harder or less precise from space.
• Cheaper, less predictable, and harder to detect/track in some ways (though this one was spotted easily).
What could it see/gather that satellites couldn’t (or not as effectively)?
Official US assessments (from the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community) concluded the balloon had limited additive value over what China could already get from its extensive satellite network — meaning it wasn’t a game-changer, and much of the data was comparable to satellite capabilities. However, balloons offer niche advantages in certain scenarios:
• Longer dwell/loiter time over a specific area: Low-Earth orbit satellites zip by in minutes (their passes are predictable and short), while a balloon can hover or slowly drift over a target for hours or days, allowing sustained monitoring without gaps.
• Closer proximity to the ground: Operating at ~60,000 feet (stratosphere) vs. satellites at hundreds of miles up, it could potentially get higher-resolution imagery or stronger signals for certain frequencies (e.g., short-range communications, lower-power emissions, or finer details that atmospheric interference weakens from orbit).
• Better collection of certain signals: Closer range helps with intercepting weaker or line-of-sight electronic signals (e.g., from weapons systems, radars, or base communications) that might be harder or less precise from space.
• Cheaper, less predictable, and harder to detect/track in some ways (though this one was spotted easily).
Posted on 1/28/26 at 7:38 pm to winkchance
quote:
Can you imagine 1938 and a German U-boat off the east coast is coming ashore using local land lines and the media saying we know whose phones were used but those are our sources and we must protect them?
Cajun along the coast allegedly sold diesel to German u-boats during WWII
Posted on 1/28/26 at 7:43 pm to winkchance
That bothers you? Pay attention to the number of cell towers that are up in rural areas.
Download GPS Status on your phone, they don't appear.
We were offered a sizeable amount for a 20 year lease. After a lot of digging, it was a Chinese outfit. We put out the word, none of the neighbors would sign.
It still went up four miles away.
Download GPS Status on your phone, they don't appear.
We were offered a sizeable amount for a 20 year lease. After a lot of digging, it was a Chinese outfit. We put out the word, none of the neighbors would sign.
It still went up four miles away.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 10:02 pm to weagle1999
quote:
One of the most bizarre things to happen in recent memory.
It really is. We allowed the Chinese to float a fricking solar powered spy satellite in high atmosphere across the entirety of the Continental US and parts of Alaska. It's kind boggling.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 10:53 pm to winkchance
quote:
it all gets swept away.
None of the stuff you noted was “swept away”. Why do people always post this crap?
Posted on 1/28/26 at 11:08 pm to Bayoubengal85
quote:
Ever try to make a cell call from an airplane?
Maybe the chinese spy balloon was using the same system as a 9-11 plane.
We just don't know.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 11:12 pm to winkchance
SFP will be here shortly to tell you that what happened in the past isn’t important and we should move on.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 11:17 pm to TigerFanatic99
I went down a rabbit hole. Apparently they do it all the time and it is why we really didn't freak out about it. This one just caught tye media's attention.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 5:53 am to winkchance
Should’ve been shot down in the NW way before it reached SC.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 6:18 am to winkchance
quote:
Charlie Kirk Asssination, Trump shooter, etc it all gets swept away.
I mean the Kirk shooter is behind bars awaiting trial and the Trump one is dead so how are they swept under the rug?
Posted on 1/29/26 at 7:48 am to winkchance
quote:
<---this right hear is criminal.
Your spelling is criminal.
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