China balloon & Airship Development
- Thread starter escobar
- Start date
Picture of the first balloon from a U2 spy plane in all its 3 school bus length payload glory.
broadsword
Brigadier
So what is the outcome of the FBI investigation? Have they decided it was a spy balloon to justify all the wild presumptions? I don't think they have said anything about big antennae or radar and nothing resembling a high-powered camera.
escobar
Brigadier
Where is the propeller?
If only the leading edge on the U-2’s wings were as sharp as those on the F-104. Could’ve saved a couple million usd.
escobar
Brigadier
The four symmetrically positioned white things could be the propeller
hmm... at that altitude, those propellers may be just enough to adjust the orientation of the solar panels, not enough to move the whole thing
If the payload is connected to the balloon with cables, would propellers even functionally work? It's not a rigid body, and I imagine the panels would just swing around.
If they are in the picture they aren't ducted or protected in anyway, so wouldn't there be a risk they could get tangled into the cable and severe it?