Title says it all. I am genuinely curious as to how an individual, or group of individuals could legally take, and hold possession of rogue technological devices violating US airspace, and turn a profit from the salvaged CCP junk.
Comments (25)
sorted by:
One of my favorite lines from an old Playboy cartoon about UFO's comes to mind.
"Shoot it down and see if it's friendly."
Its from China so $0.99 cents
Sell pieces and parts on ebay as souvenir's from the first civilian downing of a high altitude craft. A little piece of history is worth more than .99 cents.
Just like the "Dollar Tree" store it is now "Tree Fifty".
It probably contains the next iteration of pandemic virus...
Holy shit. You're twisted. Unless its true, then you could be hero..if anybody listened.
Yes and possibly Fentanyl. We know that China is likely the world's largest producer of this drug and is smuggling it through our southern border. Consider how they could have inserted hundreds of pounds of the powder inside, which would be released if the balloon is punctured/torn/shot down. The powder would spread throughout the atmosphere, raining down onto the people, the natural waterways and the animals, possibly killing millions.
Wear a hazmat suit if you approach it, it makes an excellent delivery system for a plague, fentanyl, some kinda cooties.
If it's above our air space and on our soil, then it's OURS.
It contains classified documents.
That thing has to hit ground eventually. The US military has stated that it's not a threat. The CCP has stated that it's simply an out of control weather balloon. When it does hit ground, who can legally claim ownership of the scrap? I know if it's on private property, then someone will likely be able to lay claim to it.
But what I am wondering is, if it lands on public land, or in the ocean, who gets to claim the prize?
Getting the needed altitude to approach the flying pile of claimable scrap that the CCP admittedly "lost control" of should not be an issue.
https://www.highaltitudescience.com/products/near-space-balloon-1200-g
This little baby can get over 100,000 ft. And there are bigger balloons available.
An 800g payload is plenty for high explosives. Trick is getting it to make contact w the other balloon. Or a small IED w ball bearings in it.
I was thinking a bit more simplistic. Balloons could maybe get tangled together somehow, lots of pointed razor blades, or razor wire...oops, it fall down...
Souvenir's to sell on ebay, and keep to show the grandkids, and impress based hotties...
Well , like kite fighting, you could glue broken glass to the tether. But still...trying to intersect two floating objects at that altitude with a ton of variables is near impossible. I'd suggest about 20 of them attached to a lawn chair, SCUBA gear, warm clothing and a 30-06 rifle and a box of ammo and hope for the best.
Interesting concept, but the world record for a manned hot air balloon is around 70,000ft. I don't know how high the CCP scrap balloon is, but I would estimate it at 100k ft. altitude.
Besides being illegal for people to fly a balloon that high, I don't think a manned flight would be feasible.
But, that's what this thread is trying to figure out.
“CCP” balloon is floating around 63k feet. Felix Baumgartener jumped from a balloon at 24 mi high or about 130,000’. It’s not illegal to fly a balloon that high. I have a friend who launches small weather balloons w cameras that hit 60-70k feet every so often. Then again, it took Felix a Red Bull endorsement and about 10M to make it happen. Look up the story.
https://twitter.com/rwapodcast/status/1621374590495723522?s=46&t=I7cFpw25NXD9n5K-Aloz3A
Looks like I called it. They used a Raptor. No GG guns, but a Sidewinder did the trick. The variant being an AIM-9X which has laser lock-on-target guidance. All the pilot had to do was target the balloon with his helmet and release. The laser means it locks on a target and thrust vectoring guides in the missile. I would call the post above "busted" (Mythbusters).
Interesting. I'm not sure I buy it in totality. The F22 Raptor has a known ceiling of 60,000 feet. It can probably push 70k. While the balloon (it is not an aerostat, those are tethered) may present a minimal infrared signature due to lack of an engine, they are usually constructed out of a type of mylar, which will reflect radar. So a radar based system will see it if it is painted with a signal. Additionally, the F22 is equipped with a M61A1 20mm Gatling gun. I'm pretty confident that it would rip a balloon to shreds easily.
Take it out with a drone, or surface to air missle if not over a city.
Avoid Chinese bird seed & bird bells. Bad, invasive seeds.
Oh jeez. Never thought of that. My God all things Chinese are insidious.
https://twitter.com/rwapodcast/status/1621374590495723522?s=46&t=I7cFpw25NXD9n5K-Aloz3A
Some other interesting bits to consider for taking it down. They are apparently quite sturdy.