DENVER (KDVR) — Another unidentified object in the sky has caused concerns with the U.S. government.
On Friday, the Defense Department tracked and shot down a “high-altitude object” over Alaska. There isn’t information yet on what this object is — whether it was operated by another country or even if it was privately or commercially owned.
This object was much smaller than last week’s suspected spy balloon and was traveling at a much lower altitude of 40,000 feet, bringing it into the airspace of other aircraft and making it a threat.
And that’s exactly what U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said on Friday — that she feels this recent object shows the country’s air space isn’t secure.
‘Calm down and talk to each other’
Its origin is unknown, but with last week’s Chinese balloon, a correlation to China is easy to make.
“There is a possibility that this is from China, and if it is, that will increase the tensions that are shared with these two countries,” said Suisheng Zhao, director of the University of Denver’s Center for China-U.S. Cooperation. “These types of situations can further deteriorate this situation and stop the dialogue.”
No matter what or where this object is from, it could put a larger strain on foreign relations, he said.
“This type of spy balloon or this type of airplane, whatever, it’s normal. Big powers, both China and U.S. do that. The first step is to calm down and talk to each other,” Zhao said.
The government is still collecting information about the object at this time.