A U.S. fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy blimp above the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast Saturday, ending a three-day spectacle that dominated headlines and created an international incident.

The operation took place at the direction of President Joe Biden in U.S. airspace as the balloon drifted over the water. Senior defense officials said the balloon was successfully downed by a single missile at 2:39 p.m. “I told them to shoot it down,” Biden told reporters, during a travel stop in Hagerstown, Md. on the way to Camp David.

Downing the large, slow-moving balloon over the ocean reduced the risk of falling debris causing damage or casualties, a concern that military commanders had earlier in the week as it drifted eastward across the country. Biden said he gave the U.S. military authority to take down the alleged surveillance balloon on Wednesday with orders to shoot it once there was no longer a fear of endangering Americans on the ground.

Read more about the Spy Balloon: https://ti.me/3YrBSb0
Subscribe to TIME’s YouTube channel ►► http://ti.me/subscribe-time
Subscribe to TIME: https://ti.me/3uwZBtG
Get the day’s top headlines to your inbox, curated by TIME editors: http://ti.me/the-brief
Follow us:
Twitter: https://ti.me/3VZVRMQ
Facebook: https://ti.me/3uzo7KJ
Instagram: https://ti.me/3ux56s9