After mounting pressure on the Biden administration to explain the unprecedented situation that has seen an alleged Chinese spy balloon and three mystery objects shot down in just over a week, officials appeared sure of only one thing - it's not aliens
"Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure," the US Northern Command said in a statement.
"I just wanted to make sure we address this from the White House," Mr Biden's press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said at the top of the first full-blown briefing since the latest shoot-down of an unidentified object Sunday. As for another high-altitude balloon spotted in Latin America, China says that was a civilian flight test device.
The other three unidentified objects - shot down Friday over Alaska, Saturday over the Yukon in Canada, and Sunday over Lake Huron on the US-Canadian border - were much smaller, less sophisticated, and were flying lower than the Chinese balloon from earlier this month."Countries, companies, research and academic organizations operate objects at these altitudes for purposes that are not nefarious at all, including scientific research," Mr Kirby said.
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