Aurora picture from STS-61C 1985 mission?

This picture was taken in 1985 and can be seen on a NASA public web server.



The text accompaning the picture says:

A small piece of thermal insulation tile floats in space near the Shuttle Columbia. The cloudy surface of the earth is used as a background.

Could it be something else? Like the Aurora?

NASA archive where I found it:
science.ksc.nasa.gov...

Hmm, intresting picture! When you blow it up to take a closer look, it kind of resembels a flying wing aircraft of some kind. However, the image is too blurry for me to attempt to make an Identification. I was hoping I could post an image of the blow-up,how ever it's not working as I had hoped. Sorry!

Tim

Here is the image blown up, there is a right angle in there but one line is curved and the triangle is not symmetrical. Thermal tiles are rectangular so if this is a corner of one the shape make sense.

If it is Aurora then either it is ENORMOUS or can go into low earth orbit. As far as I know the people who believe Aurora exists don't commonly give it these attributes.

As an earlier poster said, its not the right shape either. The triangle doesnt seem to have two equal edges and I dont think wings swept at that angle would make for very good hypersonic travel.

As it stands, bearing in mind that NASA have posted the photo and given it a believable caption, I think it is just a piece insulation.

Originally posted by gfad
If it is Aurora then either it is ENORMOUS or can go into low earth orbit.

For an object capable of such speeds I expect that it would be able to do so.

Originally posted by gfad
I dont think wings swept at that angle would make for very good hypersonic travel.

This could be attributable to the orientation of the aircraft. It could be moving toward the camera (up and to the left of it, or maybe moving to the right while banking left). Although I must say it does look like it's going away from the camera. There's a bit of a bulge on the bottom that may be engine outlets.

Originally posted by gfad
As it stands, bearing in mind that NASA have posted the photo and given it a believable caption, I think it is just a piece insulation.

True enough, that could be exactly what it is. But I'm just pointing out some stuff that could slow down this picture's dismissal.

Looks like a time portal opening up

It looks like a broken piece of thermal protection system (TPS) tile.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

To me, the triangle looks like it is very close to the shuttle, making it impossible to be a Aurora. Well, that's how I feel anyway

Originally posted by Darkpr0
For an object capable of such speeds I expect that it would be able to do so.

There is a massive difference in technology between being able to go at hypersonic speeds and being able to go at hypersonic speeds AND into space. You cant just assume, since Aurora is hypothesized to be a very advanced craft, that it can do both. And, especially in technological terms, you have to walk before you can run, we are yet to see an operational (rather than experimental) hypersonic plane or space-plane so what are the chances that Aurora is both?

Hey folks,

I think I got this one wrong! apon looking at the blow up again, I noticed something I missed the first time: No Exhaust. The lack of visible evidence of propulsion rules out anyaircraft I'm familiar with. This makes the tile explination much more reasonable. Looks like the Ghost goofed up on this ID!

Sorry Folks, sometimes I get them wrong!

Tim