In February, a high-altitude balloon connected to China with surveillance capabilities flew over the United States before it was taken down over the Atlantic Ocean. Initially, not much was known publicly about the balloon, but recently a bunch of Pentagon documents were leaked on Discord that showed the balloon – and up to four other similar balloons – could have featured synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a technology that can look through certain materials.
Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman of the US National Guard, has been arrested in connection with the documents that were leaked. This suspicion was further backed up by the fact that the balloon had been equipped with the capacity to generate up to 10,000 watts of solar power, enough power that is typically used to power an entire home, which could support SAR capabilities.
Synthetic aperture radar is the solution to create high-resolution images without requiring an overly large antenna. It releases bursts of electromagnetic energy to an object on land, and the sensor on the radar picks up the exact wavelength of data reflecting back. These sensory readings are then used to recreate whatever objects are beneath the energy stream.
Unlike normal cameras, synthetic aperture radar is able to “see” in the dark, and through clouds, smoke, dirt and rain. It is used all over the world for science research; for example, by NASA and the European Space Agency, to monitor the Earth’s topography. Additionally, it has been used in warfares to spy on enemies; for example, a Canadian satellite operator recently supplied SAR imagery to Ukrainian officials to monitor Russian troop movements during bad weather or when the clouds are out.
Although the Pentagon documents showed there could have been some sort of SAR feature on the balloon, some sensors on the device are still labeled as “unidentified”. The Pentagon has not responded yet to any requests for comment regarding the issue.
The company mentioned in the article is the European Space Agency (ESA), which is an international organization of 22 member countries dedicated to the exploration of space. They focus on discoveries about our universe, the development of pioneering satellite-based technologies and services, and actions that would profit their citizens.
The person mentioned in the article is Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman of the US National Guard. He was arrested on Thursday in association with the leaked documents from the Pentagon.
