The Chinese Spy Balloon Shows the Downsides of Spy Balloons

Summary

This article by Lily Hay Newman, writing for Wired, makes the following points:

• Spy balloons were widely used before the development of low-Earth and geosynchronous satellites.
• Unlike satellites, which are out of sight, the Chinese spy balloon was relatively easy to see, find and destroy.
• Spy balloons have limited intelligence-gathering capability when compared to satellites.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• US downs Chinese balloon, drawing a threat from China | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
• Starlink Explained: Everything to Know About Elon Musk's Satellite Internet Venture | The Runway (govcms.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• FEB 2023 Chinese balloon part of worldwide fleet, US officials say—BBC
• FEB 2023 Chinese spy balloon over the US: An aerospace expert explains how the balloons work and what they can see—The Conversation

Source Information:

• Article Source: https://www.wired.com/
• Media Check: Wired - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
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