Michelin salutes final space shuttle flight

ERJ staff report (TB)

Greenville, South Carolina -- With the touchdown early today of the space shuttle Atlantis, it's more than just the end to an era of US space travel -- it's the end of a tyre supply pact for Michelin North America Inc. which has been the sole provider of tyres for the spacecraft.

Michelin has been manufacturing space shuttle tyres at its Norwood, North Carolina, aviation tyre plant since the US shuttle program began more than 25 years ago.

Ron Olds, vice president of sales for Michelin Aircraft Tires, called the final landing for the shuttle “a proud moment for Michelin and NASA to watch the close of the space shuttle era. The final landing closed a 30-year chapter in American history that showcased some of the greatest technological advancements spurred on by the American spirit.”

He added, “Every aspect of the shuttle program-down to the tyres designed to dependably return the spacecraft safely to earth-is a tribute to the American 'can do' attitude.”

A Michelin press release described how the space shuttle's tyres functioned under extreme conditions, including handling landings at speeds up to 288 mph and carrying loads as much as three times that of a Boeing 747 tyre, which the Greenville-based tyre maker said “is the equivalent of a 40-car starting line-up at a NASCAR race.”

Each shuttle tyre weighs about 230 pounds and takes approximately six hours to build. The space shuttle takes six tyres-four main-landing gear and two nose-landing gear tyres-to land. The shuttle tyres are inflated up to 373 psi and use nitrogen, which best maintains pressure in varying altitudes and extreme temperatures, according to Michelin.

With the US shuttle fleet now retired, the vehicles will become museum pieces at various locations, including in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

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Article from Tire Business (a Crain publication)