Eli5 What are the benefits of an “spy balloon” over other methods of aerial surveillance?

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It just seems unpractical and low tech

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Satellites orbit at hundred of kilometers and can get pretty good images but now imagine those same cameras on satellites.. in a balloon only a few tens of kilometers high. MUCH closer to the surface and can get extremely high resolution..hell if I had to guess you could probably identify a coin on the Floor with such proximity.
Only catch is it is moving a lot so focus could be an issue
This is speculation as I do not know what kind of camera is on board the balloon, could be a average camera not a Satellite grade one for all I know.

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