We were denied an opportunity to check this stuff out. I saw a missile strike hit the good stuff suspended under the balloon, then fragments being blown away. We, the general public, were denied an opportunity to view an array of parts spread out on some hanger floor and then get to read some analysis report. Transponders? - I heard the device - spy balloon - had limited directional capabilities - GPS receive/transmit. Weather observations - cameras & other spy stuff. No sense in having weather observations if location could not be determined & then info transmitted.
International space laws - not applicable for a comparatively low level, like 11-mile-high device -no satellite. Remember 9-11 when G W Bush #43, was hustled off to Air Force #1.
Sadly, we will never see what this device was actually loaded with - no parts will be recovered & displayed.
The famed 8.8cm WWII anti-aircraft gun could get up to almost 1/2 the elevation of the spy balloon but todays weapons could have extinguished the threat over some open, unpopulated area & allowed recovery of parts. This deserves a congressional inquiry.