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Decision to shoot down balloons puts spotlight on hobbyists

In this image taken from a video shot by Tom Medlin on June 11, 2022, a pico balloon, which costs about $12 and is about 32 inches in diameter, floats in the air near Collierville, Tenn. Medlin, owner of the Amateur Radio Roundtable podcast, believes a similar balloon is what the U.S. military shot down over the Yukon recently. Hobbyists typically fly the balloons for fun and to experience the challenge of building transmitters and antenna systems, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been collecting data from operators to learn more about wind patterns, he said. (Tom Medlin via AP)

In this image taken from a video shot by Tom Medlin on June 11, 2022, Medlin shows electronics attached to a pico balloon, which costs about $12 and is about 32 inches in diameter, in a field near Collierville, Tenn. Medlin, owner of the Amateur Radio Roundtable podcast, believes a similar balloon is what the U.S. military shot down over the Yukon recently. Hobbyists typically fly the balloons for fun and to experience the challenge of building transmitters and antenna systems, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been collecting data from operators to learn more about wind patterns, he said. (Tom Medlin via AP)

In this image taken from a video shot by Tom Medlin on June 11, 2022, Ed Harrison launches a so-called pico balloon, which costs about $12 and is about 32 inches in diameter, in a field near Collierville, Tenn. Medlin, owner of the Amateur Radio Roundtable podcast, believes a similar balloon is what the U.S. military shot down over the Yukon recently. Hobbyists typically fly the balloons for fun and to experience the challenge of building transmitters and antenna systems, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been collecting data from operators to learn more about wind patterns, he said. (Tom Medlin via AP)

FILE - In this image released by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 prepare material recovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the Atlantic Ocean from the shooting down of a Chinese high-altitude balloon, for transport to the FBI, at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va., on Feb. 10, 2023. U.S. officials say the military has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon. (Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. U.S. officials say the military has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon. (U.S. Navy via AP)

FILE - In this image provided by the FBI, FBI special agents assigned to the evidence response team process material recovered from the high altitude balloon recovered off the coast of South Carolina, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va. U.S. officials say the military has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon. (FBI via AP, File)

FILE - In this image released by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 prepare material recovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the Atlantic Ocean from the shooting down of a Chinese high-altitude balloon, for transport to the FBI, at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va., on Feb. 10, 2023. U.S. officials say the military has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon. (Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

Decision to shoot down balloons puts spotlight on hobbyists