# Why shoot down the spy balloon?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 7, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440 "2023-02-07T17:50:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440/41 "2024-02-23T23:55:51Z")

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Man, someone else sent another balloon flying over Utah that’s being tracked by the USA. I can’t believe there are people who apparently spend their lives setting them aloft (and dweebs like me who obsess over them).

> **[US monitoring high-altitude balloon over the west](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-monitoring-high-altitude-balloon-west-rcna140275)**
>
> The officials say the balloon, which is hovering at between 43,000 to 45,000 feet, does not appear to pose a national security threat to the U.S.

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440/42 "2024-02-24T00:01:34Z")

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Since when is “43,000 to 45,000 feet” a “high-altitude balloon”?

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440/43 "2024-02-24T00:41:05Z")

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> Why shoot down the spy balloon?

Because the Pentagon is out of Bubble Wrap.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shoot-down-the-spy-balloon/979440/44 "2024-02-24T01:41:07Z")

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Commercial airliners fly below 42,000 feet, so one could reasonably call anything above that “high altitude.”

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