Forbes

A mysterious high-altitude balloon that U.S. officials were tracking over the Rocky Mountains on Friday was a “likely hobby balloon” that is no longer in U.S. airspace, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Saturday.

When the Chinese spy balloon crossed over U.S. airspace last year, U.S. officials said it posed no threat to civilians, but it drew concern about Chinese surveillance of Americans, especially as some reports suggested the balloon was capable of taking photos that could be transmitted to China. It was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Carolina in February of last year. The incident renewed tension between the U.S. and China, with the Biden administration calling the balloon’s flight over U.S. airspace “unacceptable and irresponsible.” China has maintained the balloon was a civilian vessel that had drifted off course.

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