Close-up photo of Chinese spy balloon in flight released by US military
The mid-air photo was taken by a U-2 pilot.
A close-up photo of the Chinese spy balloon, taken mid-air from a U-2 spy plane, has been released by the U.S. military
The photo was taken on Friday, Feb. 3 as the balloon flew over the American Midwest at an altitude of 60,000 feet -- as the U-2 spy plane trailed it flew across the continental United States.
The image shows the U2 spy plane flying just above the balloon with the pilot’s helmet seen in the foreground.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/chinese-spy-balloon-ho-mz-03-230223_1677101701452_hpMain.jpg)
U-2 spy planes are usually one-seater aircraft but the U-2 that was flying alongside the balloon was a two-seater trainer.
The photo was taken by the other pilot sitting in the second seat.
Visible in the balloon’s white fabric is a silhouette of the U-2 aircraft and below it is the payload that carried reconnaissance sensors, antennae, and solar power panels.
![](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/488cdf71-9d5d-4e57-b265-6be5cfa8c9c2/china-balloon-rt-rc-230206_1675701820261_hpMain_2_16x9t.jpg)
That payload was described as being equal in length to three school buses.
The day after the photo was taken the balloon was shot down on Feb. 4 over U.S. territorial waters off of South Carolina.
A two-week recovery operation off the coast of South Carolina recovered most of the balloon and its payload that is now being analyzed by the FBI.
The incident created a domestic and international political firestorm.