Space Shuttle orbiter (Without the fuel tank)
37.2 m (122 ft)
Orbiter length
NASA's reusable spaceplane, measured nose to tail. Length: 37.2 m (122 ft).
Published
How big is that?
37.2 m is 1.4 times a blue whale and 74% of an Olympic pool.
Space Shuttle orbiter is the 6th smallest of the 39 Cosmic Scale objects, and the 45th largest of the 109 objects across all three SizeItUp games.
Closest in size from the other games: Christ the Redeemer (Statue only) (Classic), 30 m tall and Statue of Liberty (Statue only) (Classic), 46.05 m tall.
Size comparison
To scale, smallest to largest: Space Shuttle orbiter in orange beside the Cosmic Scale objects nearest in size, in teal.
| Object | Size | vs Space Shuttle orbiter |
|---|---|---|
| Hubble Space TelescopeThe telescope in orbit since 1990, about the size of a bus. | 13.2 m long | 35% of the size |
| James Webb Space Telescope (Sunshield)The tennis-court-sized sunshield that keeps Webb cold, measured along its long side. | 21.197 m | 57% of the size |
| Space Shuttle orbiter (Without the fuel tank) | 37.2 m long | – |
| Falcon 9 (SpaceX)SpaceX's reusable workhorse rocket. | 70 m tall | 1.9× bigger |
| International Space Station (Seen from above)The orbiting laboratory, measured along its solar-array truss. | 109 m long | 2.9× bigger |
In other units
| Centimetres | 3,720 |
|---|---|
| Metres | 37.2 |
| Feet | 122 |
| Yards | 40.68 |
How it's measured
Orbiter length. NASA, converted from 122 ft.
Sources
- nasa.gov: Orbiter: 122 feet long (37.2 m).
Checked against the source on .
Could you have guessed it by eye?
Space Shuttle orbiter 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.