How long is a hubble space telescope?

A little more perspective

NASA’s Hubble design page gives a telescope length of 13.2 meters. This horizontal reference runs along the main body from the aperture end to the aft structure, with the solar arrays deployed to the sides. It is not an altitude or a measurement from the tips of the solar panels.

The deployed solar arrays make the outline wider across the telescope, but their orientation does not redefine its main-body length. NASA’s current design page uses 13.2 meters; some rounded outreach material gives 13 or 13.3 meters. This entry preserves one named source instead of treating those rounded expressions as independent precision measurements.

Orthographic rendering of the unchanged NASA outreach 3D model. Only the aperture-to-aft body length is calibrated to the separate 13.2-meter reference. The open aperture door extends beyond that endpoint. Body diameter, solar-array geometry, surface details and other appendages retain the approximate outreach-model proportions; this is not engineering CAD, a dimensional survey or a photograph.

Quick facts

NASA’s Hubble design page gives a telescope length of 13.2 meters.

For a presentation or a research note, include the subject, the measurement definition, and the measurement used. A picture alone cannot explain those choices. The comparison guide explains how to export an image and its source notes together.

Sources and measurement notes

• NASA: Hubble observatory design and spacecraft size
• NASA: original outreach 3D model
• NASA images and media usage guidelines

Source review recorded September 8, 2026. Maintained by Ishan Karunaratne. Suggest a correction with a source and the exact measurement being compared.

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