[r9etb]

That is not a tile. Tiles wouldn't create such a plume. It's structure.

I tend to agree. IIRC, that particular piece also stayed fairly close to the Shuttle for quite a while, meaning it had a similar ballistic coefficient -- which implies it must have been fairly massive.

The obvious question then would be: what?

My first guess would be the left landing gear door.

[Jim Noble]

>>The obvious question then would be: what?<<<

What, and why didn't its loss increase turbulence to the point of a crew report?