Do Chinese Spy Balloon's Carry Remote ID?

CappyAmeric

Elite member
Not so. Terminal velocity is a function of mass and wind resistance and is different for different objects. The famous penny thrown from the Empire State Building would be essentially harmless. The remnants of the balloon would also act as a streamer, thus slowing its descent.

Same sized object, different mass, same impact time. Hat tip to Galileo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo's_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_experiment

Related - an object dropped through air from a sufficient height will reach a steady speed, called the terminal velocity, when the aerodynamic drag force pushing up on the body balances the gravitational force.

Hitting the ground from 20k, 30k, 40k, 50k, 60k would be the same for the same object, with the same volume, because the terminal velocity would be the same.
 
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SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
We weren't talking about different objects. We were talking about the same object from different altitudes, falling to the earth. The terminal velocity at the surface would have been the same from 40,000 feet as 60,000 feet, because the volume remains the same, and the drag increases as it descends through denser air.

While that is true on its face, it applies only to free falling objects. An object trailing a streamer is by definition not free falling. But yes the total distance traveled would not effect the object's potential terminal velocity.
 

CappyAmeric

Elite member
While that is true on its face, it applies only to free falling objects. An object trailing a streamer is by definition not free falling. But yes the total distance traveled would not effect the object's potential terminal velocity.
No one said it had no drag. The point of contention was over the fact that the extreme height meant that the impact would be quite destructive to the equipment it was carrying - my point was, the height had nothing to do with it. Bringing it down from 60k was no worse than supposedly waiting until it descended to 40k to bring it down - just like bringing down over water was no different in impact effect than on land. Speed at impact would be the same.

Bottom line: a Chinese UAS was spying for almost a week over the entire breadth of our country, and our government yawned and lied about it - and yet they want to confine every toy R/C airplane or drone operated by citizens to registered "FRIAs" that they "approve" or disapprove.

And no, you aren't going to get your yard or the school field recognized by the FAA as a "FRIA" - they are lying to you ("Here's a form, just apply!"). Want to know where most of the FRIAs will be? almost all will be current AMA fields. The fix is in.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
I would bet the NSA and counterintelligence communities were monitoring it, jamming it, and possibly exploiting it. If it were really a threat, they would not have left it up.
 

Mr NCT

Site Moderator
Ya gotta love the Air Force....

f22 balloon logo.jpg
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
I would bet the NSA and counterintelligence communities were monitoring it, jamming it, and possibly exploiting it. If it were really a threat, they would not have left it up.

You can bank on it. Although technically it was the Air Force physically doing those things. What IS alarming though, is that these things are hard to detect.
 

CappyAmeric

Elite member
You can bank on it. Although technically it was the Air Force physically doing those things. What IS alarming though, is that these things are hard to detect.
LOL. Except by a common citizen in Montana with an off-the-shelf camera.

As the smug Pentagon spokesman said last Friday when asked if American citizens had a right to know where the “balloon” currently was: “Of course. They can just look up.”

The Chinese never designed the massive UAS to be clandestine. The fact that it could be seen with the naked eye by thousands of Americans for many days was part of the fun for the Chinese PLA.
 
"grabbing cell/Wi-Fi”, this is the most interesting declaration to me. What type of wi-fi are they able to reach? And I know ATG networks have used cell service so folks can play a little on the internet during flight since regular cell towers don't broadcast toward the heavens, but I would hope the encryption would help in that manner. Are we passing unencrypted national security data over cell services?

You have to know that this is just a stupid excuse to rattle sabres over a high altitude balloon that went off-course. If they really wanted to "spy" on wi-fi and cell signals they can drive, undetected, across the entire U.S. with mini-vans with radio gear in the back and a couple antennas on top. You don't need no expensive high-altitude long-duration balloon, and even suggesting that you do is an indication of rampant paranoia having set in.
 

JFC24

New member
You have to know that this is just a stupid excuse to rattle sabres over a high altitude balloon that went off-course. If they really wanted to "spy" on wi-fi and cell signals they can drive, undetected, across the entire U.S. with mini-vans with radio gear in the back and a couple antennas on top. You don't need no expensive high-altitude long-duration balloon, and even suggesting that you do is an indication of rampant paranoia having set in.
They do that, twice I’ve had operations shut down because of “unknown” SIGINT threats.

The balloon wasn’t the first, it wasn’t even the 100th, but it was a global demonstration of our foreign policy and what we are willing to publicly accept.
 
They do that, twice I’ve had operations shut down because of “unknown” SIGINT threats.

The balloon wasn’t the first, it wasn’t even the 100th, but it was a global demonstration of our foreign policy and what we are willing to publicly accept.

I would say, whatever works for you.

The Chinese balloon was launched from a university, the Chinese government didn't even know about it until it created an "incident". In the US. NASA and various universities fly LDB's all the time that do circumnavigations over Asia and China:

One of the major differences is, the Chinese government doesn't go all paranoid and start shooting missiles at ham radio and research balloons like the US government does, then invent "spy balloon" stories to justify the mass paranoia.

The stupidity of the general masses is almost unbelievable. They fabricate this story about "Chinese Spy Balloons" and the next thing you know they're shooting at ham radio balloons over Canada, and they got a missile laying in the bottom of Lake Huron that was fired at another ham radio balloon that was launched from Wisconsin. Idiots. The country is run by idiots all vying for attention in what they call the "news". And the general public soaks it all right up and joins in the mass hysteria.
 

CappyAmeric

Elite member
You have to know that this is just a stupid excuse to rattle sabres over a high altitude balloon that went off-course. If they really wanted to "spy" on wi-fi and cell signals they can drive, undetected, across the entire U.S. with mini-vans with radio gear in the back and a couple antennas on top. You don't need no expensive high-altitude long-duration balloon, and even suggesting that you do is an indication of rampant paranoia having set in.
Should we assume you are joking?

A maneuvarable high altitude balloon went "off course" and just happened to spend days over northern states where we have 3 of the most sensitive missile bases in the world?

No, it isn't "paranoia" when the #1 enemy of the United States decides to be "off course" over our sovereign territory for a week.

Regardless, the point of the thread was to point to the hypocrisy that the US Government let the Chinese spend days transversing our skies, but honest citizens can't fly R/C in their backyards or parks because the Dept of Homeland Security thinks that is a threat.
 

CappyAmeric

Elite member
One of the major differences is, the Chinese government doesn't go all paranoid and start shooting missiles at ham radio and research balloons like the US government does, then invent "spy balloon" stories to justify the mass paranoia.
Instead, it forces down a US Navy P-3 flying in international airspace, then holds the crew prisoner for a week - keeps the aircraft and reverse engineers it.
 

JFC24

New member
I would say, whatever works for you.

The Chinese balloon was launched from a university, the Chinese government didn't even know about it until it created an "incident". In the US. NASA and various universities fly LDB's all the time that do circumnavigations over Asia and China:

One of the major differences is, the Chinese government doesn't go all paranoid and start shooting missiles at ham radio and research balloons like the US government does, then invent "spy balloon" stories to justify the mass paranoia.

The stupidity of the general masses is almost unbelievable. They fabricate this story about "Chinese Spy Balloons" and the next thing you know they're shooting at ham radio balloons over Canada, and they got a missile laying in the bottom of Lake Huron that was fired at another ham radio balloon that was launched from Wisconsin. Idiots. The country is run by idiots all vying for attention in what they call the "news". And the general public soaks it all right up and joins in the mass hysteria.
Well, the nature of my employment gives me a perspective different than yours.

It’s a mistake to assume that Chinese universities are anything other than RTD&E facilities for the Chinese military.