SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN LANDING GEAR TIRE: PROGRAM‑ISSUED B.F. GOODRICH, SERIAL 9220N00363

B.F. Goodrich Aerospace, ca. 1990s. Black elastomer aircraft tire molded “BFGoodrich”, size 44.5 × 16.0–21 (for 21‑in. wheel), 34‑ply rating, tubeless; side‑wall performance legends “228 KNOTS,” “.10 SKID,” “MAXIMUM SIX LANDINGS,” and manufacturer stock markings “BFG STOCK NO. 006‑866‑1 / CODE IDENT. NO. 03581.” Serial 9220N00363 molded and also grease‑penciled on the side wall; additional molded compound/tooling code to tread. Approx. 44½ in. diameter.

The side‑wall serial 9220N00363 is not listed among the mission‑attributed flight tires catalogued in Dennis R. Jenkins, Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon, 1972–2013, vol. II. In Shuttle logistics this usually indicates a program‑issued spare or ground‑use tire (e.g., for fit checks, gear‑change training, or orbiter processing), or a tire procured for flight but never assigned before the program’s transition to other inventory.

Main‑gear tires for the Shuttle were among the most highly stressed ever fielded: lightweight for orbital flight yet engineered by BFGoodrich to absorb touchdown near ~228 knots and extreme dynamic loads. Although rated on the side wall for “maximum six landings,” Shuttle mains were typically changed after a single landing; unassigned tires such as the present were maintained as critical spares within the orbiter processing flow at KSC. The 44.5 × 16.0–21 main‑gear size was standard across the fleet for Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour, giving this piece broad resonance as an artifact of reusable‑spacecraft operations.