James Webb Space Telescope (Sunshield)
21.197 m (69.54 ft)
Long side of the deployed sunshield
The tennis-court-sized sunshield that keeps Webb cold, measured along its long side. Sunshield: 21.2 m by 14.2 m.
Published
How big is that?
21.197 m is 12 times an adult man and 78% of a blue whale.
James Webb Space Telescope is the 5th smallest of the 39 Cosmic Scale objects, and the 51st largest of the 109 objects across all three SizeItUp games.
Closest in size from the other games: Cricket pitch (Classic), 20.12 m long and Tennis court (Classic), 23.77 m long.
Size comparison
To scale, smallest to largest: James Webb Space Telescope in orange beside the Cosmic Scale objects nearest in size, in teal.
| Object | Size | vs James Webb Space Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Lunar ModuleThe spidery lander that carried astronauts to the Moon's surface, legs extended. | 7.04 m tall | 33% of the size |
| Hubble Space TelescopeThe telescope in orbit since 1990, about the size of a bus. | 13.2 m long | 62% of the size |
| James Webb Space Telescope (Sunshield) | 21.197 m | – |
| Space Shuttle orbiter (Without the fuel tank)NASA's reusable spaceplane, measured nose to tail. | 37.2 m long | 1.8× bigger |
| Falcon 9 (SpaceX)SpaceX's reusable workhorse rocket. | 70 m tall | 3.3× bigger |
In other units
| Centimetres | 2,119.7 |
|---|---|
| Metres | 21.197 |
| Inches | 834.5 |
| Feet | 69.54 |
| Yards | 23.18 |
How it's measured
Long side of the deployed sunshield. NASA.
Sources
- webb.nasa.gov: Actual dimensions: 21.197 m x 14.162 m.
Checked against the source on .
Could you have guessed it by eye?
James Webb Space Telescope is one of the objects in Cosmic Scale, a daily size comparison game: you stretch a shape to the size you think is right beside one you know.