Where, exactly, does “outer space” begin?
That depends who you ask.
There’s something called the Kármán line, named after Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian American engineer and physicist who was active in aeronautics and astronautics who lived from 1881 to 1963. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), an international body for aeronautics and astronautics that sets standards and keeps records, defines the Kármán line as the altitude of 100 kilometers — or 62 miles (about 330,000 feet) — above Earth’s mean sea level.
But the U.S. puts the line of outer space at 50 miles. “It’s also roughly the altitude that was used by the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s when it gave out astronaut wings to test pilots who flew over 50 miles (80 km) high,” according to astronomy.com.
Cut to the space race now underway by a trio of the world’s billionaires — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson, and Tesla founder Elon Musk. With Branson set to blast into space on Sunday — flying to an expected altitude of 57 miles — Bezos’ Blue Origin is throwing some shade at him.
“Only 4% of the world recognizes a lower limit of 80 km or 50 miles as the beginning of space. New Shepard flies above both boundaries. One of the many benefits of flying with Blue Origin,” they wrote on Twitter.
And they tossed out another dig: “From the beginning, New Shepard was designed to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk next to their name. For 96% of the world’s population, space begins 100 km up at the internationally recognized Kármán line.”
Only 4% of the world recognizes a lower limit of 80 km or 50 miles as the beginning of space. New Shepard flies above both boundaries. One of the many benefits of flying with Blue Origin. pic.twitter.com/4EAzMfCmYT
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 9, 2021
Blue Origin also dissed Branson’s SpaceShipTwo as just a high-altitude plane.
But then there’s this: “‘NASA Mission Control places the line at 76 miles (122 kilometers) because that is “the point at which atmospheric drag becomes noticeable,’ Bhavya Lal and Emily Nightingale of the Science and Technology Policy Institute write in a 2014 review article,” National Geographic reports. Bezos’ “rocket” won’t fly above the altitude when it launches later this month.
Last month, a person with very deep pockets won an auction to join Bezos and others on a trip to space.
“The Amazon founder’s rocket company, Blue Origin, did not disclose the winner’s name following the live online auction,” WDSU-TV reported. “The identity will be revealed in a couple weeks — closer to the brief up-and-down flight from West Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing.”
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has done 15 test flights since 2015, all successful. “The completely automated capsule can carry up to six passengers, each with their own big window. Blue Origin’s top sales director, Ariane Cornell, said following the auction that the fourth and final seat on the debut crew flight will be announced soon,” the station reported.
Earlier this month, Virgin Galactic announced that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration cleared the company to take passengers into space.
“Today’s approval by the FAA of our full commercial launch license, in conjunction with the success of our May 22 test flight, give us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer,” Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said in a statement.