Any particular person who crosses the Karman Line qualifies as an astronaut.
Boundaries play an vital function in science as a result of they assist differentiate and outline issues which may in any other case mix collectively. One such boundary is the Kármán Line. Located at 100 km above sea stage, it’s an imaginary line that demarcates the earth’s environment from space.
Though not all scientists and spacefarers settle for it, a majority of nations and space organisations recognise this boundary between earthsky and space. It was established within the Nineteen Sixties by a record-keeping physique referred to as Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Anyone particular person who crosses this line qualifies as an astronaut.
However, nature seldom adheres to human-made boundaries. Crossing the Kármán Line bodily doesn’t imply a lot. Within a brief distance on both aspect of the road, there isn’t any important distinction within the stress or the composition of air. The earth’s gravity continues to exert its pull right here. Even the earth’s environment doesn’t finish right here. Why then do we want the Kármán Line?
The Kármán Line was established to manage airspace. It marks, roughly, the altitude past which a conventional plane can’t fly. Any plane flying past it wants a propulsion system to tug away from the earth’s tug. It additionally acts as a authorized reference that separates airspace {that a} nation can declare to personal from space itself, which is ruled like worldwide waters.
