Kármán line

Karman line English Alternative forms en Karman line von Karman line von Kármán line Etymology en Hungarian-American engineer Theodore von Kármán = 1881 1963, who calculated this limit. Noun ? Kármán line en aeronautics astronomy The altitude at which the atmosphere becomes too thin to support aerodynamic flight. en Gabrielli-von Karman limit Karman limit von Karman limit en McDowell limit McDowell line en Stephen Hawking; Lucy Hawking Unlocking the Universe 2020 Penguin UK https://books.google.com/books?id=E_-PDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT99&dq=%22K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n+line%22&hl=&cd=6&source=gbs_api#v=onepage&q=%22K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n%20line%22&f=false 978-0-241-41534-4 As well as being important for aircraft and spacecraft, the Kármán line is useful for lawyers—the laws that govern space are not the same as the laws that govern Earth's atmosphere! en http://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/10/virgin-galactic-richard-branson-orbit Virgin Galactic to launch space plane with Richard Branson onboard 2021-07-11 Sarah Betancourt The Guardian The boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, known as the Kármán line, has been a source of controversy for years. https://web.archive.org/web/20261021004220/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/10/virgin-galactic-richard-branson-orbit 21 October 2026 en-GB w:Marina Hyde Was this a hen do or a humanitarian mission to liberate Paris? Either way, give Lauren Sánchez an award The Guardian 2025-05-20 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/20/lauren-sanchez-hen-do-humanitarian-mission-paris-jeff-bezos 0261-3077 As for what was worn during the Paris festivities, the dress code wasn’t specifically themed as Marie Antoinette – necklines did plunge deep, in the late 18th-century style, but hemlines had been guillotined somewhere near the Kármán line. https://web.archive.org/web/20261020135604/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/20/lauren-sanchez-hen-do-humanitarian-mission-paris-jeff-bezos 20 October 2026 Usage notes This is treated as the border between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. It is defined as a static altitude of 100km (62 mi) above sea level (ASL) on Earth by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale; the U.S. government (NASA, USAF, FAA) treats this as a static altitude of 50 mi (80km) ASL. The actual altitude is dynamic and not static, and depends on atmospheric conditions. Where both the 100km and 80km limits are used at the same time, the 100km limit is the Karman line and the 80km line is the McDowell line. See also en Armstrong line death zone mesopause Further reading