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MICHELIN IS THE
SOLE TIRE SUPPLIER TO THE NASA SPACE SHUTTLE
Michelin® tires are out of this world ... literally. Michelin is
the sole tire supplier for the Space Shuttle program since the first
launch in 1981.
Michelin Aircraft
Tire Corporation equips the shuttle with Michelin® Air™ brand tires,
a line of tires first introduced for the general aviation market
in 1992. A lot of work goes into being the sole supplier for NASA.
Shuttle tires undergo extensive testing to help ensure they can support
a shuttle landing at speeds up to 250 miles per hour. In addition
to the routine checks for aircraft tires, space shuttle tires
must also be checked by X-ray analysis, and be further tested
against NASA's own standards before being mounted on the shuttle.
Surprisingly,
a space shuttle tire is not much larger than a truck tire, but
a main landing gear tire can carry three times the load of a Boeing
747 tire or the entire starting line-up of a NASCAR race -- 40
race cars - all hitting the pavement at up to 250 miles per hour.
Michelin Aircraft Tire is a leading tire supplier for commercial
and regional airlines, the military and general aviation. Space
Shuttle tires are manufactured exclusively in Norwood, North Carolina.
Interesting
facts and figures:
- Number
of tires on the Space Shuttle:
4 - main landing gear tires 44.5x16.0-21, 34 ply, 263 mph
2 - nose landing gear tires 32x8.8, 20 ply, 250 mph
- The
space shuttle tires are filled with nitrogen (as are most aircraft
tires) due to its stability at different altitudes and temperatures.
Due to the extremely heavy loads these bias ply tires are inflated
to 340 psi (main gear) and 300 psi (nose gear).
- The
main landing gear shuttle tires are only used one time and the
nose landing gear tires are used for two landings.
- Weight:
Since weight is of extreme importance, Michelin designs the
tires with a minimum amount of tread to conserve weight, allowing
for larger payloads. A few pounds may not seem to make much
difference, but when you add up all of the ways to decrease
weight throughout the Shuttle it can have a significant impact.
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