The Largest Garage Door in the World

 Posted on March 10, 2022 in Uncategorized

Garage doors come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A single-car garage door might be 8 feet wide by 7 feet tall or 9 feet wide by 7 feet tall, while a two-car garage is likely to be 16 feet wide by 7 feet tall. You can also get a garage door custom-made to fit your garage.

Of course, there are countless other doors that fall under the category of garage doors but are customized for special uses. A good example of this are the doors that are widely considered to be the largest garage door in the world-and behind these doors are not cars or trucks but spacecraft.

The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building

The Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida is the home of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Vehicle Assembly Building, known as the VAB. NASA uses the VAB to assemble rockets before they are transported to the launchpad. For the 30-year duration of the space shuttle program, the shuttle assemblies were put together in the VAB as well.

The VAB is one of the largest buildings in the world, both by area and volume. To demonstrate just how big the building is, consider that the American flag painted on the wall on the VAB exterior wall is 209 feet tall by 110 feet wide, and it takes more than 500 gallons of paint to repaint the flag and the adjacent NASA logo when it comes time for upkeep.

The tallest part of the VAB is referred to as the high bay, and there are four of them. In the high bay, rockets can be fully assembled and stacked vertically before being rolled out for launch. Each of the VAB's high bays is equipped with what is essentially an enormous garage door. The doors are each 456 feet high, making them the largest such doors in the world. As a point of comparison, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall from the ground to the tip of the torch. Once the spacecraft in the high bay has been fully assembled, the door is opened so the rocket can be rolled out. The doors take about 45 minutes to fully open or close.

NASA is currently in the process of upgrading the VAB, so this landmark of space exploration can continue to support the agency's 21st-century launch complex.

Speak to a Custom Garage Specialist in DuPage County

While you might not need an extreme-sized garage door, it can be tough to find the right company to design, manufacture, and install a custom door for your garage. The good news is that the team at Blue Sky Builders, Inc. is ready to take on the challenge. Call 630-852-8485 to discuss your needs with aChicago garage expert today.

Sources:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/vehicle-assembly-building

https://www.clickorlando.com/moon-landing/2019/07/03/inside-the-vab-at-kennedy-space-center/