Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Collection
Title:
LSRA STS Tire Test - on rim
Description:
From 1993 to 1995, in conjunction with other NASA centers, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, used a Convair CV-990 airplane as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA) to perform Space Shuttle tire tests. The results provided the Space Shuttle Program with data to support its flight rules and enabled it to resurface a grooved runway at Kennedy Space Center that added unnecessary wear to the Space Shuttle tires.

Tests were done using a unique fixture mounted in the center of the CV-990 fuselage, between the main landing gear. Landing gear systems from other aircraft could be attached to the test fixture, which lowered them to the runway surface during actual landings. The LSRA had the ability to reproduce the loads and speeds of the other aircraft, as well as simulate crosswind landing conditions in a safe, controlled environment.

The video clip shows a landing on the concrete runway at Edwards, California on August 11, 1995, which concluded the Space Shuttle gear research program. As the Space Shuttle tire was lowered onto the surface, it was destroyed almost instantly. The rim scraped on the concrete, and stopped rolling as it became flat. It heated up and left a flaming trail of hot rubber and aluminum alloy particles. Notice how the fire quickly went out as the test gear was raised, indicating a safer condition than prevailed in a lakebed landing.

LSRA Project Home Page [ http://www.nasa.gov…]
Movie Date:
1995
note:
Still photos [ http://www.dfrc.nas…] of the CV-990 are available in several resolutions.
Keywords:
CV-990
Keywords:
landing systems
Keywords:
sts
Keywords:
tire test
Keywords:
rim
Keywords:
shuttle
facet_what:
Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)
facet_where:
Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
facet_when:
August 11, 1995
facet_when_year:
1995
Movie Number:
EM-0005-01
UID:
SPD-DRYDEN-index
original url: