https://hackaday.com/2023/11/17/that-time-nasa-built-a-tiny-tank-to-pop-shuttle-tires/ Skip to content Logo Hackaday Primary Menu * Home * Blog * Hackaday.io * Tindie * Hackaday Prize * Submit * About * Search for: [ ] [Search] November 17, 2023 That Time NASA Built A Tiny Tank To Pop Shuttle Tires 28 Comments * by: Tom Nardi November 17, 2023 * * * * * Title: [That Time NASA Built] Copy Short Link: [https://hackaday.com] Copy [tav_feat] The Space Shuttle has often been called the most complex pieces of machinery ever built, an underhanded complement if there ever was one. But it's a claim not strictly limited to the final spacecraft. With a project as far ahead of the technological curve as the Shuttle was in the 1970s, nearly every component and system of the legendary spaceplane required extensive research and development to realize. A case in point is that the speed and mass of the Shuttle at touchdown required tires that could survive forces far beyond that of a normal airplane. Pumped up to an incredible 350 psi, the space agency estimated each tire had the explosive potential of two and one-half sticks of dynamite. So while testing landing gear upgrades in the 1990s, they cobbled together an RC tank that could "defuse" a damaged tire remotely by drilling holes into it and letting off the pressure. [tav_detail]The TAV on display at Armstrong Flight Research Center. Credit: DutchSpace As explained in a recent article on Tank Historia, the CR-990 Tire Assault Vehicle (TAV) was built by NASA contractor [David Carrott] out of a 1/16 scale Tamiya RC Tiger II tank. The toy provided the lower hull and locomotion components, and an upgraded deck and side skirts were fabricated out of metal. In place of the turret, the modified Tiger carried an off-the-shelf DeWalt drill motor with a 3/ 8-inch bit in the chuck. There was also a camera and video transmitter which gave the operator a first-person view of the action; an expensive proposition in the 1990s. While the average Hackaday reader could probably rig up their own TAV today for a hundred bucks and the contents of their parts bin, back then, it cost the taxpayers around $3,000. Though to be fair, that was peanuts compared to the six-figure bomb disposal robot that NASA had been using previously. More than a decade after its retirement, the Space Shuttle is still inspiring future engineers and scientists. While its complexity arguably kept it from hitting many of the program's original design goals, the iconic winged spacecraft will forever be remembered as one of the most important milestones on humanity's journey to the stars. * [share_face] * [share_twit] * [share_in] * [share_mail] Posted in History, Toy HacksTagged nasa, RC tank, Space Shuttle Post navigation - This Week In Security: SSH, FTP, And Reptar Hackaday Podcast 244: Fake Chips, Drinking Radium, And Spotting Slippery Neutrinos - 28 thoughts on "That Time NASA Built A Tiny Tank To Pop Shuttle Tires " 1. James says: November 17, 2023 at 8:50 am Also an underhanded compliment. Report comment Reply 1. jawnhenry says: November 17, 2023 at 10:34 am One never knows. Perhaps the author was-very subtly, mind-alluding to the fact that this device was a nice complement to the entire Space Shuttle program. Benefit of the doubt, and all that... Report comment Reply 2. Jan says: November 17, 2023 at 8:55 am Nice one to use on your neighbors. Report comment Reply 3. Lee Gleason says: November 17, 2023 at 8:59 am Seems like a cheap scoped .22 rifle could have done this easier and at less cost. And if a .22 didn't have enough moxy to make it trhough the tire...well, there are lots of more powerful calibers. BTW, when did "diffuse" replace "defuse" to mean making something safe? Although in this story, you might be able to make a case for "diffuse" being correct... Report comment Reply 1. MinorHavoc says: November 17, 2023 at 9:10 am Hell no. You're not shooting at a machine that cost over $1.5 billion each launch just to deflate a tire. Report comment Reply 1. aaronfish says: November 17, 2023 at 2:22 pm Yeah I'm with Havoc on this one, I'm usually all about the simplest fix but a piece of foam was enough to damage the heat tiles on those things. God knows what even a .22 ricochet might have done even assuming no one ever missed directly. Also given the pressures it's resisting I wonder if a larger caliber might be needed to avoid the need for a perfectly placed shot. Report comment Reply 2. Bunsen says: November 17, 2023 at 9:15 am >when did "diffuse" replace "defuse" to mean making something safe? When people decided that spellcheck is a substitute for literacy and editors are a waste of money. Report comment Reply 1. D W says: November 17, 2023 at 11:56 am If I recall diffuse means to spread, as in light diffusers, maybe this diffuse the pressure rather than 'defuse' a bomb, which means removing the fuse. Report comment Reply 3. cplamb says: November 17, 2023 at 11:13 am Rifle shots sometimes bounce or over-penetrate. It's too risky. Report comment Reply 4. MinorHavoc says: November 17, 2023 at 9:08 am $3000 in 1972 is around $22,000 today. That's peanuts for a robot that performs a critical function. My company spent over $100,000 each for multiple Softbank Pepper robots for research and they're not capable of drilling a hole in anything. Report comment Reply 1. Gino Latino says: November 17, 2023 at 9:50 am looks like they cost less than 10k each https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/ softbank-pepper-robot-pricing-revealed-23-02-2015/ Report comment Reply 5. doobie says: November 17, 2023 at 9:31 am Video or it never happened ;) Report comment Reply 1. Mr Name Required says: November 17, 2023 at 11:59 am Mark Felton just did a video on this. Report comment Reply 6. teh stig says: November 17, 2023 at 9:37 am Wasn't this already posted like a week ago? Report comment Reply 7. J. Peterson says: November 17, 2023 at 9:47 am I have a hard time being nostalgic about the Space shuttle - it was the deadliest spacecraft NASA ever launched. The grim joke at the time was NASA stood for "Need Another Seven Astronauts". Report comment Reply 8. Microgadgethacker says: November 17, 2023 at 10:01 am Each shuttle flight they destroyed $33,360 worth of tires. I'm sure this was one of the smaller refurbishment costs per flight, but ouch. What under how much refurbishing a Falcon 9 costs? Report comment Reply 1. BillyG says: November 17, 2023 at 1:23 pm Space Shuttle cost $1 Billion per flight. But that includes all the ground support. If launch tempo had increased then that cost would have come down. Still, I doubt it would have be as cheap as the Falcon 9 costs. Best numbers for Falcon 9 are "Less than $67 Million" as that's the publicly posted price. Report comment Reply 9. Joshua says: November 17, 2023 at 10:08 am "The Space Shuttle has often been called the most complex pieces of machinery ever built, an underhanded complement if there ever was one." This means the Buran, I suppose? It supported an automatic/remote flight, even. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_programme Report comment Reply 1. Johan says: November 17, 2023 at 10:54 am Yeah...the Buran's first launch and flight, including landing, was by remote. I would feel much safer in a Russian spacecraft (especially now with Boeing making capsules)...they don't use their astronauts as guinea pigs. :-) Report comment Reply 1. BillyG says: November 17, 2023 at 1:26 pm I'm hoping that's sarcasm. How much have you read about the Soviet space program? Report comment Reply 1. MmmDee says: November 17, 2023 at 2:57 pm > I'm hoping that's sarcasm. How much have you read about the Soviet space program? I've seen enough to know never to get refueled at a Russian space station without a quick getaway plan :) Report comment Reply 10. M_B says: November 17, 2023 at 10:13 am As someone who has taken a drill to regular car tire a few times. That thing must really go. Takes a bit of push to get through one. Report comment Reply 1. Johan says: November 17, 2023 at 11:03 am Being very familiar with building Tamiya models, I also got the feeling that Tamiya tank is a bit light in the pants. Wonder how long it took to drill through? If it is built like an airplane tyre, then there are at least 3 carcasses to get through... Report comment Reply 11. Cliff says: November 17, 2023 at 11:18 am I like the PRC/DeWalt stickers. Around that time I worked for PRC which was owned by Litton. Litton also owned Black and Decker/ DeWalt, so we could get discounts on microwaves and power tools. We got spun off shortly after that, but it was a good deal at the time. Report comment Reply 12. philosiraptor117 says: November 17, 2023 at 11:45 am why not a sharp metal stick? just saying, a sharpened piece of rebar is pretty cheap... Report comment Reply 1. lePetomane says: November 17, 2023 at 2:06 pm Are you suggesting that this isn't better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? Report comment Reply 13. sohere says: November 17, 2023 at 12:12 pm Equivalent to two sticks and half of dynamite, it must have taken some courage on the part of the guy who had to inflate those tires. This kid project from NASA appears to show a picture of a guy either inflating the tires or checking the pressure pretty much like what you would do with a normal car tire: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ space-shuttle-tires-k-12-supplemental.pdf Report comment Reply 14. RobotInDisguise says: November 17, 2023 at 12:16 pm I work down the hall from Dr Carrott and he loves to tell this story. He is also super smart and loves to talk about anything. He's also really nice. Report comment Reply Leave a ReplyCancel reply Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy) This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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