The balloon was supposed to be a tethered display for the event, but broke loose due to high winds. It forced the pilot to launch into "free flight" for about 20 frightening minutes.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday revealed that the U.S. assesses the alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down over the weekend was part of an expansive surveillance program aimed at gathering intelligence from targets around the globe.
The U.S. Navy on Tuesday released the first close-up photos of operations to recover parts of the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down on Saturday.
The official said that the intelligence community is prepared to offer briefings to key Trump administration officials about the Chinese surveillance program, which the Biden administration believes has been deployed in countries across five continents over the last several years.
The US has downed a large Chinese balloon suspected of conducting surveillance on the U.S. military.
The Pentagon has confirmed to ABC News that a second Chinese surveillance balloon has been spotted transiting over South America.