The Chinese military unit in charge of outer space and cyber warfare was involved in the operation of a balloon that flew over the continental United States before being shot down by U.S. forces, several Chinese sources said Thursday.China has maintained the balloon was being used for civilian weather research purposes. But a senior U.S. State Department official later in the day offered the most specific information to date on the incident, saying that the Chinese maker of the balloon has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army.The official said the large balloon, equippe…READ FULL ARTICLE