Boeing 737-800 vs Space Shuttle orbiter
Boeing 737-800 (39.5 m) is 1.06× the size of Space Shuttle orbiter (37.2 m).
Space Shuttle orbiter is 94% of the height of Boeing 737-800. The gap between them is 2.26 m (7.41 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-800 | 39.5 m | 130 ft | length |
| Space Shuttle orbiter | 37.2 m | 122 ft | length |
What the scale shows
Boeing 737-800 (39.5 m) is 1.06× the size of Space Shuttle orbiter (37.2 m). The gap between them is 2.26 m (7.41 ft). Both are vehicles & ships, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 94% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Boeing 737-800 is its length (overall length). The figure for Space Shuttle orbiter is its length (overall length).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Boeing 737-800's 39.5 m takes 28 seconds and Space Shuttle orbiter's 37.2 m takes 27 seconds.
In people: Boeing 737-800 is 23 adults of 1.7 m tall, Space Shuttle orbiter is 21.9. By size Boeing 737-800 is 12th of the 14 vehicles & ships on this site and Space Shuttle orbiter is 13th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Boeing 737-800 is given as a length, overall length. The Space Shuttle orbiter is given as a length, overall length. Both are length figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Vehicles are listed by overall length. Rockets are the exception and are given as full stack height standing on the pad. Everything is drawn standing upright so one scale holds.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, the Boeing 737-800 is number 60 from the top and the Space Shuttle orbiter is number 61. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: both sit in the lower third of the list.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.06× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Boeing 737-800 would have about 1.13× the surface or footprint of the Space Shuttle orbiter, and about 1.19× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Space Shuttle orbiter is drawn 94% as tall as the Boeing 737-800, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 88.9%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers the Boeing 737-800 in 4 seconds and the Space Shuttle orbiter in 3.7 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 115 milliseconds for the larger and 109 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 158 milliseconds and 149 milliseconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.06× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Boeing 737-800 measures 39.5 m, which is 130 ft or 43.2 yards. The Space Shuttle orbiter measures 37.2 m, which is 122 ft.
The difference between them is 2.26 m (7.41 ft). In metres the smaller one is 37.24 against 39.5, so the 1.06× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Boeing 737-800 or the Space Shuttle orbiter?
The Boeing 737-800 is bigger. At 39.5 m it is 1.06× the size of the Space Shuttle orbiter, which is 37.2 m.
How many times does the Space Shuttle orbiter fit along the Boeing 737-800?
Less than twice: the Space Shuttle orbiter is 94% of the size of the Boeing 737-800, so one fits with 2.26 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are length figures. The Boeing 737-800 is overall length; the Space Shuttle orbiter is overall length.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Boeing 737-800 is about 23 people tall and the Space Shuttle orbiter is about 21.9. The gap of 2.26 m is 1.3 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.