Created by MB Knight for Enlightenment Media News

From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a large, white high-altitude balloon of Chinese origin crossed North American airspace, passing over Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States. The American and Canadian militaries alleged that the balloon was a surveillance device, to which the Chinese government characterized it as a civilian meteorological research airship blown off course. The balloon passed over Montana by February 1 and Missouri by February 3. It was shot down the next day by the U.S. Air Force over territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina.