FLOWN SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN LANDING GEAR TIRE: COLUMBIA (OV-102), STS-40 “SLS-1,” RIGHT MAIN INBOARD

B.F. Goodrich Aerospace, 1991. Black elastomer aircraft tire molded “BFGoodrich,” size 44.5 × 16.0–21, 34-ply rating, tubeless; sidewall legends “228 KNOTS,” “.10 SKID,” “MAXIMUM SIX LANDINGS.” Serial 9214N00360 molded to the sidewall; retirement paint-stick notations “SCRAP” to both sides. Diameter approx. 44½ in.

The molded serial 9214N00360 is recorded in Dennis R. Jenkins, Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon, 1972–2013, vol. II, as the right main inboard tire for Orbiter Columbia (OV-102) on STS-40 (launch 41 of the Shuttle program), Spacelab Life Sciences-1, 5–14 June 1991.

Columbia was the first operational Space Shuttle and the ship that opened the Shuttle era with STS-1 in April 1981. Over 22 years and 28 missions, she carried out pioneering tasks: the first Spacelab flight (STS-9), the deployment and repair of observatories, and the life-sciences work of STS-40, the first mission dedicated entirely to human physiology in space. On STS-40, Columbia orbited Earth for nine days while the SLS-1 laboratory investigated how spaceflight alters cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neurovestibular systems, research foundational to long-duration missions.

Columbia’s story ended tragically on 1 February 2003, when she broke up during re-entry on STS-107, claiming the lives of seven astronauts and closing a defining chapter in American spaceflight.

This tire was part of that larger narrative: a flown main-gear tire that rode into orbit and returned to Earth beneath the Shuttle that both inaugurated the reusable-spacecraft era and, years later, was lost in one of its darkest moments. Shuttle mains were among the most highly stressed tires ever built, engineered by B.F. Goodrich to accept touchdown near ~228 knots and immense dynamic loads, yet typically changed after a single landing. Mission-specific, orbiter-identified examples are consequently scarce and rarely available for acquisition.

Condition: Runway scuffing and abrasion consistent with use; sidewall legends clear; demilitarization markings as issued; sound and stable.