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Can someone explain to me how is this any different from spy satellite? Yet nobody would think about shooting down spy satellite, yet you see in this thread peo

by petodo 4y ago

Can someone explain to me how is this any different from spy satellite? Yet nobody would think about shooting down spy satellite, yet you see in this thread people discussing shooting down a baloon, what's the difference between them? Does baloon provide better data than satellite? Isn't it just cheaper version of satellite with ability to provide same data? edit: from CNN article: "“Balloon payloads can now weigh less and so the balloons can be smaller, cheaper and easier to launch” than satellites, Layton said." TLDR they are cheaper "“An advantage of balloons is that they can be steered using onboard computers to take advantage of winds and they can go up and down to a limited degree. This means they can loiter to a limited extent. “A satellite can’t loiter and so many are needed to criss-cross an area of interest to maintain surveillance,” he said." TLDR they can loiter in place compared to satellite

zw123456 4y ago
Main difference, a balloon can carry a payload that is capable of jamming rather than just surveilling radio signals. Something not being talked about.
IAmGraydon 4y ago
>Can someone explain to me how is this any different from spy satellite? A balloon can carry a weapon which could immediately have an impact if detonated at its current altitude (EMP, for example). A balloon can also descend to a lower altitude.
case0x00 4y ago
the ISR payload tends to be massively less as well, with a balloon compared to a satellite, since balloon payloads need to be really small. they are basically an obsolete technology since the development of reconnaissance satellites, UAVs, etc, so I really doubt this is collecting much valuable intelligence. also shooting down satellites is definitely a sketchy area (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon) because of in-space collisions etc.

by petodo 4y ago

zw123456 4y ago

Main difference, a balloon can carry a payload that is capable of jamming rather than just surveilling radio signals. Something not being talked about.

IAmGraydon 4y ago

>Can someone explain to me how is this any different from spy satellite? A balloon can carry a weapon which could immediately have an impact if detonated at its current altitude (EMP, for example). A balloon can also descend to a lower altitude.

case0x00 4y ago

the ISR payload tends to be massively less as well, with a balloon compared to a satellite, since balloon payloads need to be really small. they are basically an obsolete technology since the development of reconnaissance satellites, UAVs, etc, so I really doubt this is collecting much valuable intelligence. also shooting down satellites is definitely a sketchy area (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon) because of in-space collisions etc.