The Chinese spy balloon flew across the Midwest. Did it pass over Iowa?

A spy balloon the Chinese government operated floated across the continental United States last week — and Iowa was likely near its path.

The balloon fueled a flurry of panic and speculation across the country and placed an even greater strain on U.S.-China relations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned trip to China as the mysterious balloon floated over the United States.

The Iowa National Guard had no knowledge of the balloon entering "any area of Iowa," according to spokesperson Capt. Kevin Waldron. But independent analysts tracking the balloon show it came pretty close.

The National Weather Service out of Kansas City reported that a large balloon was spotted traversing above northwest Missouri and Kansas City, which is less than 70 miles away from the Iowa border.

Brynn Tannehill, a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation and former Navy pilot, said if the balloon did float over northern Missouri, it's highly likely it could surveil parts of Iowa. But what it may have picked up from Iowa is likely poor quality compared to places directly under its path.

"You'd rather be looking straight down than at a slant range and the resolution wouldn't be nearly as good because it's looking slantwise through the atmosphere," Tannehill said. "The more atmosphere you're looking through, the harder it gets to see."

Iowa contains few sensitive military sights. Those of note include the Iowa Air National Guard's base in Des Moines that flies drones in oversees operations, and an Army Ammunition Plant near Burlington that supplies the U.S. Army with large ammunition and artillery, including missile warheads and detonators.

On Thursday, the State Department said their analysis confirmed the balloon carried devices to intercept sensitive communications. However, even with these capabilities, Tannehill said the the balloon's technology was not sophisticated enough to pose threats to national security greater than those posed by low orbit satellites and other surveillance technologies.

"You can collect visual intelligence from satellites. You can collect signals or electronic intelligence from satellites, as well," she said. "A balloon offers few advantages over satellites and they have some significant disadvantages," including that it's difficult to control and its path is determined by wind.

Not the first time suspicious balloons have made their way over Iowa

This is not the first time balloons of foreign adversaries have floated across Iowa and other areas of U.S. soil.

Back during World War II, the Japanese Army launched an attack on the U.S. with more than 9,300 "fire balloons" across the Pacific Ocean. These balloons dropped bombs over a large portion of the U.S., including Iowa, from late 1944 to early 1945, in what Michael V. Vogt, the Curator of the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, wrote was "an attempt to instill fear and terror."

Vogt wrote in the Iowa History Journal that the first of the "fire balloons" to arrive in Iowa was spotted on Feb. 2, 1945.

"Twelve-year-old Joe Ford looked skyward about 5 p.m. and saw a strange object descending through the fog and landing in a pasture across the road on the J.M. McNee farm two miles north-northwest of Laurens," Vogt wrote. Ford, his father and a local farm manager examined the balloon and noticed a "long, burning fuse connected to a small patch on the side."

Civil Defense Commander George C. Buckwakter arrived on the scene and tied the balloon to his car and drove it into town, where "curious spectators examined the fabric and tore away small pieces as souvenirs," Vogt wrote.

USA Today and The Argus Leader contributed to this article.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Chinese spy balloon flew near Iowa as it traversed the United States