i.d. the balloon, but it was decided to let it fly on a northern trajectory and collect intelligence on it. suddenly an official said it took a strange turn south towards the lower 48 states crossing into idaho on january 31 and eastward across the country. after it was decided to not shoot the balloon down over land, u2 spy planes were sent up to monitor it, the administration determining that the balloon was no longer sending information back to china sources say as the u.s. tried to block it from gathering more intelligence on sensitive u.s. military sites. this balloon a small part of a broader years long chinese balloon program whose fleet flew over 40 countries. the united states is not the only part of the program. reporter: the balloon program run by chinese military. china outraged at the shootdown demanding the return of the remnants of the balloon.