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“ Another official from the Department of Defense told the New York Times that the object broke into pieces when it hit the frozen sea” - Guardian article on th
by westhom 4y ago
“ Another official from the Department of Defense told the New York Times that the object broke into pieces when it hit the frozen sea” - Guardian article on the Alaska downing
How could a balloon break into pieces? Doesn’t it need to be made of flexible material?
Edit: WSJ is now reporting unnamed sources confirmed Alaska was a metallic balloon w suspended payload.
- Arch485 4y agoThe balloon typically suspends hardware that serves the actual function; it was likely that hardware that broke into pieces on the ice.
- westhom 4y agoRight, but what makes it confusing it this is the one they were calling object, so not confirmation of being a balloon or suspending a payload.
- KennyBlanken 4y agoYou are being exceedingly pedantic in interpreting their wording.
- winddude 4y agoLighter than air aircraft. Could have been some light weight composite.
- doodlebugging 4y agoIt will be interesting to see what they release about the objects and their construction and potential functions.
- doodlebugging 4y agoPerhaps at the temperatures in that area the material used to construct the balloon becomes brittle enough to shatter. I didn't look at temperature data from that altitude to see whether common materials would lose flexibility.