How Many Miles To Space

Low earth orbit leo where many satellites live goes from 160km 100 miles 525 000 feet to 2 000km 1 240 miles 6 5 million feet.

How many miles to space. By the same token space is often defined as beginning at the lowest altitude at which satellites can maintain orbits for a reasonable time which is approximately 160 kilometers 100 miles above. General international consensus sets a similar limit for the start of space as 100km 62 miles or 380 000 feet. However other countries and agencies have a differing opinion on where space begins. Others place the marker at an astronomical 13 million miles.

America tends to use 50 miles as their definition for things like awarding people their astronaut wings. The space industry lists 62 miles. Determining the boundary of outer space is fraught with scientific and political issues. Although the united states does not have a defined boundary nasa considers the earth s atmosphere ending and beginning at 76 miles above the surface.

The boundary is sometimes called the kármán line after the person that first calculated it. The shortest distance between earth and space is about 62 miles 100 kilometers straight up which by general accord is where the planet s boundary ends and suborbital space begins. 400 000 ft 122 km nasa s re entry altitude for the space shuttle defined as the beginning of more significant atmospheric drag. The internationally agreed boundary of space is 100km or 62 miles.

In the us space begins at 80 4km 50 miles or 264 000 feet. 450 mi 700 km the thermopause exobase end of collisional atmosphere. Nasa s web site will check the telemetry from the space station and gather its exact latitude and longitude as it orbits about 200 miles over the earth traveling 17 500 miles an hour making one full orbit every hour and a half. 93 mi 150 km above that altitude a stable circular orbit is possible.