Pentagon releases pilot’s close-up photo of Chinese balloon

AP ^ | 2/22/2023 | TARA COPP

[VanShuyten]

A U-2 pilot flying high above the Chinese spy balloon took a close-up photo of the large white orb just a day before the Air Force shot it down off the South Carolina coast.

[VanShuyten]

Photo at site

[Seruzawa]

Real actual photo!!

[BBQToadRibs2]

Selfie

[Sirius Lee]

Photo at Breitbart:

[Sirius Lee]

Great! Now everybody in the world’s gonna know that a U2 can fly higher than 60K feet.

[Owen]

Here is what you need for a weather balloon:

Barometer, digital
Thermometer, digital
BeiDou receiver (Chinese GPS system)
BeiDou will inform latitude/longitude, and delta for wind
A command receiver for the descent valve
A data transmitter for the gathered info
A battery
Solar panels for the battery

Looks like a weather balloon to me

[Owen]

my bad, I forgot the computer to orchestrate data
collection and transmission to receiver

It looks like a weather balloon to me.

[hattend]

its been common knowledge for decades

[Tijeras_Slim]

I sense a missing sarcasm tag.

[Sirius Lee]

forgot to add /s to my post. sorry.

[Sirius Lee]

kerrekt

[steve86]

The article fails to mention the obvious point that the shadow of the U2 can be seen on the balloon envelope.

[dangus]

Hello, hello (hola)
I’m at a place called Vertigo (¿dónde está?)
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
Except you give me something
I can feel, feel

[canuck_conservative]

Looks like a weather balloon to me

so why didn't China tell the US that their balloon was accidentally entering US airspace?

if everything really was on the up-and-up?

[dangus]

I’ve lost all self-control
Been living like a mole
Now going down, excavation
I and I in the sky
You make me feel like I can fly
So high, elevation

[Scrambler Bob]

Seems like that U-2 could have somehow ‘captured’ or ‘wounded’ that balloon, without Sidewinders.

[dangus]

In the howling wind comes a stinging rain
See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below

[Vermont Lt]

I’d love to see the photos from the other three.

[Vermont Lt]

I think they had to drop down to that level.

[red-dawg]