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Satellite Technology: How big is a Satellite?

September 25, 2015

Ranging from the size of a small school bus down to the size of your lunchbox, satellites of all shapes and sizes are used to monitor Earth from space.

Image of satellite sizes

But just how big is a satellite?? Check out how current and future satellites stack up against some everyday objects!!

NOAA’s satellite fleet is made up of a variety of spacecraft, from the 3,238kg GOES-15 satellite to the 570kg DSCOVR satellite.

Now, rapidly developing satellite technology is enabling even smaller satellites to provide similar capabilities. These small satellites provide shorter construction times and reduced costs.

The addition of smaller spacecraft and instruments, in conjunction with NOAA’s next generation flagship satellites GOES-R and JPSS , has the potential to significantly bolster NOAA’s observational capabilities.

For this reason, NOAA is pursuing collaboration on the development and demonstration of mutually beneficial small satellite technology.