The Edge of Space: Revisiting The Karman Line

In this paper I revisit proposed definitions of the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, considering orbital and suborbital trajectories used by space vehicles.
In particular, I investigate the inner edge of outer space from historical, physical and technological viewpoints and propose 80 kilometers as a more appropriate boundary than the currently popular 100 km Von K\'{a}rm\'{a}n line.

Jonathan C. McDowell
(Submitted on 20 Jul 2018)

Comments: 17 pages, 4 figures
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Journal reference: Acta Astronautica 151 (2018) 668-677
DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.07.003
Cite as: arXiv:1807.07894 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:1807.07894v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
Submission history
From: Jonathan McDowell
[v1] Fri, 20 Jul 2018 15:33:07 GMT (773kb,D)
https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.07894