In February, a suspected Chinese spy balloon traveled over the U.S. Where did it fly, what was it doing and why did the U.S. wait to shoot it down?

RELATED: Chinese spy balloon shot down by US Air Force over Atlantic Ocean https://bit.ly/3XyVQQF

The Chinese spy balloon shot down Saturday had carried devices to intercept sensitive communications, the State Department said Thursday,offering the first proof that it was on an espionage mission.

The Pentagon flew high-altitude U-2 spy planes to examine the gear dangling from the 200-foot balloon and found that it had the ability to conduct “signals intelligence collection operations,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement.

The spy balloon’s incursion into the United States caused a diplomatic rupture with China, prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s decision to cancel a trip to Beijing. On Capitol Hill, members of Congress expressed outrage at the incident and demanded answers from the Biden administration.

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