[eabinga]

Are you sure the tires are filled with air? I would think they'd be solid or semi-solid, else the compartments would have to stay highly pressurized during the flight. In the vaccum of space, air filled tires could blow apart.

Not really. The air pressure at sea level is a bit less than 15 psi. If you took a normal 30 psi inflated car tire into space, it would have the equivalent filling of about 45 psi.

[tanknetter]

Not really. The air pressure at sea level is a bit less than 15 psi. If you took a normal 30 psi inflated car tire into space, it would have the equivalent filling of about 45 psi.

The shuttle tires are filled with nitrogen and pressurized to 315psi. At that kind of pressure, they are essentially solid.