Space Shuttle Columbia - Flown Nose Landing Gear Tire

 

This specimen comes from a mission-flown, Space Shuttle nose landing gear tire which was removed from service after the Space Shuttle Columbia's 13th mission, STS-52. The specimen is encased in an acrylic specimen jar and housed in a 4" x 3" x 1" glass-topped riker box. A small information card is also included.

The material is layered (in this case 20-ply) and highly irregular. Our target size is approximately 1x1 cm, but there will be variation in width, length, thickness, and texture. Some specimens may exhibit small metallic bands from the interior of the tire while others may be completely smooth. This makes each specimen absolutely unique.