the equivalent of a satellite being hung from a balloon. "Non maneuverable" is still sort of ambiguous because these types of vehicles navigate by selecting the altitude with the most favorable winds and using controls to attain that altitude, either with a more advanced gas fill/release system or dropping ballast. It sounds like the previous balloon had a good amount of these systems so it could be aimed and this one likely had a more rudimentary version?

Yes. The whole “non-maneuverable” line is kind of a blurry one with modern algorithms/comms and the altitude adjustments possible