Chinese spy balloon: Here is a timeline of events

The dramatic takedown of what U.S. military officials have called a Chinese spy surveillance balloon took a long, meandering trip across the U.S., from the tip of the Aleutian Islands to its demise off the South Carolina coast.

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Saturday began with sightings in North Carolina early in the day and ended midafternoon when F-22 Air Force jet fighters shot the balloon down with a missile above the Atlantic Ocean within U.S. territorial waters.

President Joe Biden said he gave the order to shoot down the Chinese balloon on Wednesday once it was over the water, The Associated Press reported. Chinese officials, meanwhile, condemned the takedown and issued a statement expressing its “strong dissatisfaction and protest” against Washington’s actions.

“China clearly asked the U.S. to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reaction.”

Here is a timeline that led to the takedown.

Saturday, Jan. 28

The balloon entered American airspace near the southern tip of Alaska near the Aleutian Islands, The Washington Post reported. Trackers at the U.S. Northern Command initially believe the aircraft to be another one of China’s light probes that have skirted the edges of the U.S. defensive borders, according to the New York Times.

Monday, Jan. 30

The balloon entered Canadian airspace, carrying what U.S. officials believed were solar panels that powered it, along with surveillance cameras.

Tuesday, Jan. 31

The balloon returned to U.S. airspace and crossed into northern Idaho. U.S. officials considered shooting it down but planners did not want to risk injuring people on the ground, according to the Post.

Wednesday, Feb. 1

The balloon floated over Montana near Malmstrom Air Force Base, where several nuclear missile silos are located. Several civilians spotted it, and Billings resident Chase Doak recorded its movement on video, the Post reported. Doak was standing in his driveway at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said the balloon looked like ”a big, round disc in the sky.” Billings Logan International Airport was temporarily closed and several flights were grounded.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alerted Biden, according to the Times. The president asked for military options, including the immediate destruction of the aircraft.

Biden authorized a takedown “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin later said in a statement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken summoned the top official at the Chinese Embassy in Washington and tells him that the U.S. government has the right to take any actions to protect its interests, according to the Times.

Biden also ordered that no activities or sensitive unencrypted communications would be conducted in the path of the balloon, the Times reported.

Thursday, Feb. 2

The U.S. general public learned for the first time about the balloon. Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters it was traveling at an altitude “well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Biden authorized a takedown “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would later say in a statement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken summoned the top official at the Chinese Embassy in Washington and tells him that the U.S. government has the right to take any actions to protect its interests, according to the Times.

Biden also ordered that no activities or sensitive unencrypted communications would be conducted in the path of the balloon, the Times reported.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” Ryder told reporters, according to a Department of Defense statement. “We continue to track and monitor it closely.”

Republican lawmakers and politicians criticized Biden for not taking harsher action against the balloon and China, the Times reported.

Friday, Feb. 3

Alerted to the balloon’s existence, civilians spotted the aircraft as it flew over Kansas and Missouri. In a statement, the Chinese The balloon was spotted by civilians as it flew over Kansas and Missouri. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the “airship” was a weather balloon that had strayed from its intended course into the U.S. The statement added that “westerly winds” and its “limited control capacity” caused the balloon to enter U.S. airspace “by mistake.”

“The fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon, and I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that,” Ryder said during a news conference. “We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable.”

Blinken postponed his planned trip to China and told that country’s diplomats that the balloon had undermined the purpose of the trip, according to a spokesperson. The Chinese Foreign Ministry then accused some politicians and media outlets of hyping the incident to “smear China,” the Post reported.

Police in Gastonia, North Carolina, asked residents in a Facebook post that was later deleted not to take “potshots” at the balloon, which was heading toward the state.

Saturday, Feb. 4

The balloon was spotted in North Carolina, with sightings in Asheville and Charlotte. As afternoon approached, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily issued ground stops at airports in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Wilmington, North Carolina. The move was made to “support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” according to a statement from the FAA.

The sheriff’s office in York County, South Carolina, urged residents not to try shooting at the balloon.

“What goes up will come down, including your bullets,” the sheriff’s office said.

At about 2:39 p.m. EST, Air Force fighters shot down the balloon as it crossed the South Carolina coast and hovered above the Atlantic Ocean in U.S. territorial space. An F-22 Raptor fired a missile to send the balloon into the ocean.

U.S. military officials began recovery efforts, gathering debris from the ocean.

Note: Video below contains two instances of profanity.

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