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The rear tires that brought the STS-116 crew to their safe end of mission, find to one’s mind all orbiter main gear tires, were rated in opposition to only one use and were replaced before Discovery flew again nearly a year later. The orbiter's nose gear met the same ultimate fortune after only their second landing.

Discovery's spent tires and those of 50 other ended flights dating as far back as 1986 were moved to NASA superplus yards and storage centers. The Kennedy Space Center in Florida began the measure to auction more than 60 of the retired tires while crumb in February 2005 before the agency reconsidered and pulled the tires from the sale. Instead, NASA said, they would be set aside for then-unspecified "outreach and educational activities."

Three years later, NASA announced last week their flown tires' fate: they would be rolled out taken in the character of the pilot for a recently made known artifact loan program targeted at museums, planetariums, and other organizations.

Prior to the new Artifact Loan Opportunities Program, the space agency made its spent space-flown items available to the Smithsonian and to other museums. Educational institutions could take artifacts for short name display or in-classroom use but long-term loans were primarily only available to credentialed museums that could satisfy the soundness requirements set by NASA.

Given the ample afford of shuttle tires and the desire to space new audiences, NASA has invited proposals for the long-term loan of the tires by organizations traditionally excluded from such programs, such as civic groups and schools. To facilitate the process, the agency has waived some of their requirements for the care of flown artifacts, permitting outdoor manifestation as good being of the kind which the choice to discipline or cut, as well as paint the tires, though whether intact or in pieces, all the material will remain the property of NASA.

Announcing the program, NASA suggested example uses of the tires, including as art, sculpture, furniture, building structures, or exhibits.

To temper for a three-year renewable loan, organizations need to submit a proposal by dint of. June 11 as in health as provide firm of security against loss in case of overthrow for the retail value set by NASA of $250 per tire. Due to U.S. State Department regulations, the tires may not leave the country.

The organization must likewise provide a guarantee to cover the shipping costs associated with the transportation of the tires, which average a weight of 500 pounds and are near 3.5 feet in distance through the centre, from either Florida or Washington, DC.

In addition to the STS-116 tires, NASA also has listed as available tires from the 2005 "Return To Flight" mission of STS-114; the 1998 STS-88 flight, which gave birth to the International Space Station; STS-95, that featured former U.S. Senator John Glenn's return to space after 36 years; and STS-61C, that landed 10 days before the loss during launch of space shuttle Challenger in 1986, among many other tires from other missions.

According to the program's website, loans will be awarded on the basis of the creative and innovative merit of the proposal, past actual presentation, technical knowledge, outreach potential, educational potential, both fiscal and schedule soundness, alignment with NASA's educational goals and the attraction of "nontraditional" audiences.

NASA estimates the manifesto of the granted loans will be made on or round July 18, 2008.

Though NASA has yet to announce additional artifacts it may make available through the program, the agency is preparing for the 2010 scheduled retirement of the space shuttle fleet, which accounts for hundreds of thousands of items beyond the three remaining vehicles themselves.

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From: NASA Rolls Out Space Shuttle Tires for Loan (SPACE.com)