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From China to Big Sky: The Balloon That Unnerved the White House

  • The mysterious white object entered US airspace on Jan. 28
  • Its existence derailed a top US-China meeting in Beijing
Bloomberg business news
Spy Balloon: US Says It's Monitoring Chinese InflatablePhotographer: Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg
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Star gazing is nothing unusual in Montana, where skies go on forever. But as Chase Doak left work on a Wednesday and looked up on a cold winter day he saw a mysterious round white object that was clearly neither the moon or a star. 

He began to film something that could come straight out of a movie where science fiction meets the Wild West. Within 48 hours the strange thing that went on to confound the residents of Billings was revealed to be a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon.