Project Genetrix

[1] It launched hundreds of surveillance balloons that flew over China, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union to collect intelligence on their nuclear capabilities.

Eisenhower viewed the reconnaissance efforts as defensive in nature, under the rationale of collecting intelligence on the Sino-Soviet bloc in case of a surprise nuclear attack against NATO.

[4][5] The United States claimed that the project was a worldwide meteorological survey and compared the balloons to "miniature satellites" out of the way of commercial air traffic.

[11] Secretary of State John F. Dulles said that after the air force compiles the data, it would be contributed to the International Geophysical Year 1957–58 for all countries to access.

[4] Asked if the United States had the right to send these balloons anywhere around the globe, he answered, "Yes, I think that we feel that way," saying that international law was obscure on "who owns the upper air".