[westhom]

“ Another official from the Department of Defense told the New York Times that the object broke into pieces when it hit the frozen sea” - Guardian article on the Alaska downing

How could a balloon break into pieces? Doesn’t it need to be made of flexible material?

Edit: WSJ is now reporting unnamed sources confirmed Alaska was a metallic balloon w suspended payload.

[Arch485]

The balloon typically suspends hardware that serves the actual function; it was likely that hardware that broke into pieces on the ice.

[westhom]

Right, but what makes it confusing it this is the one they were calling object, so not confirmation of being a balloon or suspending a payload.

[winddude]

Lighter than air aircraft. Could have been some light weight composite.

[doodlebugging]

It will be interesting to see what they release about the objects and their construction and potential functions.

[doodlebugging]

Perhaps at the temperatures in that area the material used to construct the balloon becomes brittle enough to shatter. I didn't look at temperature data from that altitude to see whether common materials would lose flexibility.