Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Atlantic was taller than the Statue of Liberty - CBS News

It was taken out of the air space at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, officials told CBS News, with a single air-to-air missile over the Atlantic Ocean off of South Carolina's coast.

A senior Biden administration official confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday that the U.S. intelligence community believes the balloon was part of an aerial surveillance program run by the People's Liberation Army out of Hainan.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held a briefing Monday about the balloon incident for about 150 staff from roughly 40 embassies, the official also confirmed.

Balloons were also flown over Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and the State Department is briefing other countries to alert them that their air space is being violated.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Congress was briefed in August on China's aerial surveillance program.

U.S. Navy Photo VanHerck added that officials chose not to previously shoot down the balloon because it was initially believed that it "did not present a physical military threat to North America."