with most of the speculated Aurora designs, it was described as burning liquid methane.[787] The new Aurora shape was widely publicized, with a major feature story in
In mid-1993, a short book on Aurora was also published.
Reports also claimed sightings had been made at Kwajalein Atoll and that a loud sonic boom, which had caused damage in Holland, was from Aurora. Other sonic booms were heard near the White Sands Missile Range.
It was said that they came from the Aurora. It was also said that Royal Australian Air Force aircraft had tracked and chased aircraft flying above Mach 6.[789]
As the reports continued, believers became more strident in their attacks on the air force's denials. The Aurora book's first chapter was titled,
'Would Your Government Lie to You?' One article began with the statement that 'the Pentagon would like you to believe' Aurora does not exist, but people following the story 'know differently.' It went on to say that
'the Pentagon continues to deny the existence of the Aurora. In an attempt to protect its black projects the USAF has gone so far as to tell the world's leading aerospace experts that they are seeing things that aren't there, similar to the way they handled UFO sightings.'[790]
As with the F-19, the Testor Corporation released two models of the Aurora in November 1993. The 'SR-75 Penetrator' was their version of the XB-70-like Aurora. Launched from its back was the 'XR-7 Thunderdart.'
This Aurora was loosely based on the North Sea sighting.[791]
And as with the F-19 kit, the idea of a Black airplane at your local hobby store attracted press attention. The
When the air force was asked about the kits, they responded, 'We're not saying no comment — we're saying such a plane does not exist.'[793]
By late 1993 and early 1994, numerous articles about Aurora had been published. There was a qualitative difference with the stories about the stealth fighter published during the 1980s, however. The nightly flight activities at TTR clearly indicated the stealth fighter was operational years before the public announcement. These were rich in details, many of which, in retrospect, proved correct. The Aurora stories, in contrast, were fragmentary and stood in isolation. The Aurora had a distinctive sound and left a distinctive contrail, both of which could be heard and seen for many miles.
Yet, months would pass between sighting reports. Among some believers, the suspicion grew that all was not well with the Aurora project.
After claiming that secrecy 'has often been a cover' to hide problems, one journalist suggested Aurora had performance shortcomings, such as range, had suffered cost overruns, or had been designed for an obsolete nuclear war fighting mission.[794]
John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists said in December 1993, 'My current theory is that they spent $10 billion to $15 billion on a very fast, very high-flying airplane.' Only 'one or two prototypes' of the Aurora were built, however. Plans to build several dozen production Auroras were abandoned by the NRO in 1989—90. Pike continued, 'The main secret they have on the Aurora is not that it exists, but that they spent $15 billion and don't have anything to show for it.'[795]
Aurora was depicted as yet another Black project that had ended in an expensive failure. Even as Aurora faded away, attacks on Black projects became more strident. The editor in chief of
The believers in Aurora express confidence the cover-up will end. 'Sooner or later,' one said, the 'story will come out.' He concluded, 'Nothing thrives in the dark, except ghosts, mushrooms, and bad decisions.'[798]
This is the story of Aurora, as told by some of the foremost magazines, newspapers, public interest groups, and aerospace writers. Reading through the inch-thick stack of material, one might think the case for Aurora was proven beyond a reasonable doubt — that the United States had, in fact, built a remarkable aircraft, unlike any the world has ever seen, then systematically lied about it. So one might think.
But perhaps the reader can think of another case where sightings were also made by 'reliable witnesses' of remarkable vehicles, capable of speeds and maneuvers beyond those of conventional aircraft. These include 1,700 -mph speeds, at a time when manned supersonic flight had not yet been achieved, and right-angle turns. These objects also showed a wide range of shapes and sizes. In that earlier case, the air force also denied the sightings were valid, saying they were of conventional objects that had been misin-terpreted. In that earlier case, the believers also accused the air force of lying, slandering witnesses, and covering up. Much time was spent examin- ing official statements for any inconsistencies. When a university study supported the air force position, it was also accused of being part of the cover-up — the air force cover-up of unidentified flying objects.
Although many people have said that they have seen or heard Aurora in flight, there is only one person who has publicly claimed to have seen Aurora close up on the ground. This person is named Robert S. Lazar. On May 1, 1993, Lazar said about Aurora:
The Aurora I did see once on the way out there, and the only reason I say it's Aurora is, I was told by Dennis in the bus. And it makes an unbelievably loud sound, and I think when I heard it I said, it sounds like the sky is tearing. From what I understand, it operates on a liquid methane powered engine. A lot of this information has gotten out in
Robert Lazar also claims to have seen nine captured alien flying saucers. [800]
This is not an exception — the whole Aurora story has been pushed by a tight circle of Black airplane buffs, aerospace writers, and believers in various far-out UFO-conspiracy theories. [801] One person stated, 'The Aurora tales came straight out of UFO groups, and a lot of [the published] material… does too.'[802] Some of those involved in spreading the 'AUFOrora' stories are known to believe that the air force has 'reverse engineered' the captured UFOs in order to build Aurora.[803] They also believe that the air force has perfected optical invisibility (a Romulan cloaking device), antigravity, and time dilation.
The original 1990 articles, including the 'flattened diamond' Aurora, were based on the stories of an individual with no connection to the aerospace industry, but who claims that he was hired to design several disk- shaped, antigravity-powered flying saucers for a shadowy military-industrial group. He claims that he was once taken out to a test site to see the diamond-shaped Aurora. He said it had steel wheels, like a Bonneville salt flats racer, because rubber tires could not withstand the very fast takeoff speeds it required. He also stated that a smell
