Samantha Aschieris helpfully catalogs some hard questions following the flight of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. Except for the matter of whether the overflight was somehow an “error,” these all deserve serious attention. As investigators should understand, the five queries do not exhaust the mysteries about this balloon.
Photographers first spotted the Chinese craft while the balloon flew over Montana. The Billings Gazette published the photos, which were quickly picked up by media around the nation. Only then did the U.S. military acknowledge the balloon, which overflew missile installations such as Malmstrom Air Force Base.
From there, the Chinese craft proceeded east. The military
