Branson flight reignites debate about the location of the boundary between Earth and Space. Did Richard Branson really go into space? That question may seem silly because American media outlets have reported that Branson did reach space in his VSS Unity space plane. From CNN: “Richard Branson has boldly gone where no space baron has […]
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Branson flight reignites debate about the location of the boundary between Earth and Space.
Did Richard Branson really go into space?
That question may seem silly because American media outlets have reported that Branson did reach space in his VSS Unity space plane.
From CNN:
“Richard Branson has boldly gone where no space baron has gone before, when he rocketed to more than 50 miles above Earth in the space plane from his rocket venture, Virgin Galactic.”
From CNBC:
“VSS Unity – after being released by a carrier aircraft called VMS Eve above 40,000 feet – fired its rocket engine and accelerated to faster than three times the speed of sound in a climb to the edge of space.
VSS Unity then performed a slow backflip in microgravity, when the Virgin Galactic crew was weightless and floated around the spacecraft cabin. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 86.1 kilometers (53.5 miles, or about 282,000 feet).”
However, prior to Branson’s flight, Blue Origin’s CEO Bob Smith denied that Branson would reach space.
From The Verge:
“Ever since Virgin announced it’d try to fly its founder Branson to space nine days before Bezos flies on his own rocket, Blue Origin has been on a warpath to discredit Virgin’s suborbital spaceplane, publicly attacking everything from the vehicle’s peak altitude to the size of its windows. Blue Origin’s CEO Bob Smith wished Branson well after Virgin’s announcement, but alleged he’s not really going to space — ‘they’re not flying above the Kármán line and it’s a very different experience.’
The Kármán line, 62 miles above ground, is the boundary of space recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), a Swiss organization that sets global rules for air sports. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launches its crew capsule just beyond the Kármán line for a few minutes of weightlessness, while Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spaceplane flies 55 miles high — just over the boundary of space defined by the US government. So, both companies say they fly to space, just by different standards.”
From Astronomy.com:
“These days, spacecraft are venturing into the final frontier at a record pace. And a deluge of paying space tourists should soon follow. But to earn their astronaut wings, high-flying civilians will have to make it past the so-called Kármán line. This boundary sits some 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, and it’s generally accepted as the place where Earth ends and outer space begins.”
Still not everyone agrees that the Kármán line is the boundary for space.
From NOAA:
“The world governing body for aeronautic and astronautic records, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), and many other organizations use the Kármán Line as a way of determining when space flight has been achieved. The U.S. military and NASA define space differently. According to them, space starts 12 miles below the Kármán Line, at 50 miles above Earth’s surface. Pilots, mission specialists and civilians who cross this boundary are officially deemed astronauts.”
Astrophysicist Dr. Jonathan C. McDowell disagrees with the use of the Kármán line as the boundary for space. He writes, “I therefore suggest that a value of 80km is a more suitable choice to use as the canonical lower ‘edge of space’ in circumstances where such a dividing line between atmosphere and space is desired.”
Although Dr. McDowell’s research goes against the global consensus about the boundary of space, his finding are scientifically solid enough for the the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation) to reconsider its use of the Kármán Line as the boundary.
From the FAI:
“The Karman line is the 100km altitude used by FAI and many other organisations to mark the ‘boundary’ of space. In the last few years there have been many scientific and technical discussions around this demarcation line for the ‘edge of space’ and variance around this as a boundary condition for recognition of ‘astronaut’ status.
Recently published analyses present a compelling scientific case for reduction in this altitude from 100km to 80km. These analyses combine data/modelling from a number of differing perspectives (latitudinal variations during solar cycles, theoretical lift coefficients for different size/configuration satellites ranging from cubesats to the International Space Station, perigee/apogee elliptical analysis of actual satellite orbital lifetimes etc) to a level that has never been done before in relation to this issue. They also provide an accurate overview of some of the historical arguments and inadvertent misrepresentations of Karman’s actual analyses and conclusions from over half a century ago.”
You may be asking yourself what difference does it make where space starts.
Space.com gives an answer:
“The airspace above a given country is generally considered part of that country; outer space, on the other hand, is for everyone. If space is defined as beginning at 62 miles and the U.S. flies an unauthorized satellite at 52 miles over China, for example, that could be (justifiably) construed as an act of military aggression.”
Featured Image is a screenshot of a YouTube video.
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