There's a high altitude balloon in the news recently. It seems to have come from the Pacific, passed over Canada and is now over the US. I don't have any official tracking data but *notional* trajectories are shown in screenshots below. The CNN graphic is labeled conservatively: >Potential trajectory: suspected spy balloon **Question:** Balloons certainly have a place in the history of warfare and intelligence gathering, *but these days are there really noted, plausible modern instances of spy balloonery?* And are investigative balloons (spy or otherwise) of this size *really maneuverable?* ---- screenshots from CNN's February 4, 2023 [See path the suspected spy balloon may have taken](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP7JlAG5o6U) showing a "potential trajectory" of a "suspected spy balloon" and some high resolution photos showing the balloon and an array of panels that seem likely to be for solar power. [](https://i.sstatic.net/AHs4Z.jpg) [](https://i.sstatic.net/5mSIo.jpg) [](https://i.sstatic.net/47Yzh.jpg) [](https://i.sstatic.net/bG3BP.jpg) ---- A different hypothetical map from Sky News's February 4, 2023 [Spy balloon: China wanted 'to be noticed' says Professor Michael Clarke](https://youtu.be/EaxiA7529vE) showing a trajectory for an object at 40,000 feet ending up in Montana [](https://i.sstatic.net/dPq1b.jpg) ---- Screenshot from the April 30, 2020 NASA Wallops video [B-Line to Space: The Scientific Balloon Story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPQ-tMoAHkY) showing the payload and its solar panels. I don't know which balloon mission this is, but we can see images of another similar one in Space SE's [What cosmic ray sensor is attached to this Balloon?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/21898/12102) From the video: >NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s Scientific Balloon Program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Northrop Grumman, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services and field operations for the program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons in the over 35 years of operation. [](https://i.sstatic.net/r7rjm.jpg)