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Where Does Space Start?

 
Where Does Space Start?

It's somewhere up there

Practically everyone agrees that "outer space" begins where Earth's atmosphere ends. Unfortunately, figuring out where Earth's atmosphere ends isn't so easy. After all, there's no sign along the skyway from Cape Canaveral that reads "Now leaving Earth's atmosphere. Please re-enter soon!"

NASA calls anyone who flies higher than 50 miles (80 km) an "astronaut." But according to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (a European body that regulates competitive aeronautics), space starts 62 miles (100 km) above the planet's surface. Fifty miles? One hundred kilometers? Is everyone just using round numbers?


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Related info:
Meet the Man Who Moved the Earth
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