U.S. Locates Mostly Intact Payload From Chinese Spy Balloon

Recovery crews with the United States military have located the payload of the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas last week.

The payload, which is the size of a school bus, was mostly intact, despite being shot down by a missile. The payload contains the surveillance equipment and other technology the balloon was carrying.

It will take some time for crews to recover the payload because of bad weather in the area. Officials said that the search has been suspended until at least Monday (February 13) because of high winds between 29 to 35 mph and heavy rainfall.

To ensure the equipment does not move around on the ocean floor, the Navy has deployed weights and attached tracking devices to the debris so it can be easily located when operations resume.

"The recovery operation is ongoing, and by operation, we include ship movements to/from the site as well as activities on-site and security of the site," a senior military official told Fox News. "The weather is impacting operations below the surface for a short period, so we're conducting offload and resupply in the interim. U.S. Coast Guard ships remain on site for security. The HOS Rosebud will assist in the recovery operation in the coming days."