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Bloomberg

A high-altitude research balloon from the US is now among the world’s most-tracked aircraft, after thousands of internet users mistook it for the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon floating over the western state of Montana.
More than 4,000 users were following every move of “N257TH,” a standard high-altitude research balloon often released over the United States, according to FlightRadar24.
In response, the popular aircraft-tracking website said in a tweet on Saturday that it updated its label for the US balloon, adding that the object was “not a Chinese balloon.”
Reuters reported the balloon named HBAL617 with registration number N257TH belongs to Aerostar, an aerospace company based in South Dakota.
Pentagon says tracking Chinese spy balloon over US
“HBAL617 is an Aerostar Thunderhead Balloon that was launched from New Mexico [on] January 31 and is currently over the southeastern US,” Anastasia Quanbeck, Aerostar’s Culture and Communications Manager, said in an email.
“Aerostar has not had any balloons over the northwest part of the US in the last month.”
The high-altitude Chinese balloon floating over the continental US has gripped the world’s attention and forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his trip to Beijing.
The balloon is part of a broader Chinese spying programme that’s seen many such devices sent over the US, including some during the Trump administration, according to officials in Washington.


The fate of the balloon, as it wafts 16km (10 miles) above ground, remains uncertain – as do the delicate relations between two superpowers grasping for ways to de-escalate tensions and get talks back on track.
Authorities in the city of Billings in southern Montana issued a statement refuting the veracity of a video purporting to show an explosion and the balloon crashing to the ground, after it went viral on Twitter and was shared by cable news networks.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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United States

Thousands mistake US research aircraft N257TH for Chinese spy balloon

A balloon floats over Columbia, Montana, on Friday. Photo: Missourian via AP

Pentagon says tracking Chinese spy balloon over US

A high-altitude balloon floats over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday. Photo: The Billings Gazette via AP

A technician works at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana. File photo: US Air Force via AP

The Pentagon in Washington DC. Photo: AFP

Antony Blinken postpones China trip after Beijing confirms balloon spotted over Montana is its property

A balloon flies over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday in this picture obtained from social media. Image: Chase Doak via Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing a trip to Beijing and will reschedule it, the State Department said. Photo: AFP

Blinken said he spoke with Wang Yi earlier on Friday to inform him about the postponement. Photo: CGTN

Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, found it surprising the Biden administration was taking the balloon incident so seriously. Photo: Handout

The US Defence Department, also known as the Pentagon, chose not to shoot down the balloon because of the risk to people on the ground, a senior US official said. Photo: AFP 

News

World

United States & Canada

More than 4,000 users were following every move of the high-altitude research balloon on Flightradar24
The aircraft-tracking website later updated its label for the US airship, adding that the object was ‘not a Chinese balloon’


More than 4,000 users were following every move of the high-altitude research balloon on Flightradar24.


US-China relations

Aviation

Espionage