Pendarvis supplies steel subassemblies for Atlantis rocket booster replica

PlaceholderPendarvis Mfg., a precision machine shop and fabricator in Anaheim, Calif., built hundreds of steel subassemblies that were used in the construction of a 184-ft.-tall replica of the Atlantis space shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and external tanks. The full-scale replica resides just outside the main entrance to the new Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which houses the Atlantis.

The company provided structural steel components that made up the internal structure of the external tanks. Using pieces of wide flange beam, structural steel tubing, and high-strength steel plates, the firm provided more than 300 subassemblies used in the final assembly of the solid rocket boosters. The total weight of steel pieces was more than 255,000 lbs.

"Because the installation was at the Kennedy Space Center, the overall structure was designed by a Florida structural engineering company to withstand potential hurricanes," said Brian Pendarvis, owner. "The largest pieces we provided were the 48 columns, which were 40 ft. long and weighed an average of 4,300 lbs. each."