How high (in feet) would an aircraft have to fly before it could be considered as being 'in space'?

Question

As above! When does it technically leave the atmosphere?

Answer 1

The correct answer is 62 miles, or 327,360 feet.

Of course no ordinary airplane can fly anywhere near that altitude.  The world's record altitude for a turbo-jet engine is about 80,000 feet.

Answer 2

An aircraft such as a jet powered or Prop ,Let me say this...the SR71 recon plane once hit a record of a little over 80.000 feet, anything over that you would need solid rocket fuel as a jet sucks in air....air thins out...jet will flame out, hope this helps?

Answer 3

60000 feet

Answer 4

"The term astronaut also has a meaning that is not connected with NASA activities. In the 1960's, the United States Department of Defense awarded the rating of astronaut to military and civilian pilots who flew aircraft higher than 50 miles (80 kilometers)." quote taken from http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/astronaut_...

In feet that would be 264000 feet.

"the atmosphere extends to a height of 1000km" quote taken from http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsru...

In feet that would be 3281000 Feet. Realise this number is probably an average or estimate, and it's likley to change at different locations on the planet.

Answer 5

Space is considered to begin in the mesosphere, approximately 50 miles above the earth.  No air breathing aircraft can operate at such an altitude, so technically such an aircraft could not enter space.  There is no hard line where the atmosphere suddenly stops, but if you had a rocket powered aircraft, and could attain an altitude of 50 miles or a bit more, you would be in space.

Some X-15 flights reached the lower edge of space,and their pilots qualified for astronaut wings.  Out of all the X-15 missions, two flights (by the same pilot) also qualified for the international FAI definition of a spaceflight by passing the 62.1 mile (100 km., 328,084 ft.) mark.

(I'm flattered, C.J.)

Answer 6

In general the accepted definition is 62 miles or 100 kilometers. It is just a round number. That is the height that NASA first aimed for.

Answer 7

Space is considered to begin in the mesosphere, approximately 50 miles above the earth. No air breathing aircraft can operate at such an altitude, so technically such an aircraft could not enter space. There is no hard line where the atmosphere suddenly stops, but if you had a rocket powered aircraft, and could attain an altitude of 50 miles or a bit more, you would be in space.The term astronaut also has a meaning that is not connected with NASA activities. In the 1960's, the United States Department of Defense awarded the rating of astronaut to military and civilian pilots who flew aircraft higher than 50 miles (80 kilometers)." quote taken from http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/astronaut_...

In feet that would be 264000 feet.

"the atmosphere extends to a height of 1000km" quote taken from http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsru...

In feet that would be 3281000 Feet. Realise this number is probably an average or estimate, and it's likley to change at different locations on the planet.

Some X-15 flights reached the lower edge of space,and their pilots qualified for astronaut wings. Out of all the X-15 missions, two flights (by the same pilot) also qualified for the international FAI definition of a spaceflight by passing the 62.1 mile (100 km., 328,084 ft.) mark.

In general the accepted definition is 62 miles or 100 kilometers. It is just a round number. That is the height that NASA first aimed for.

Answer 8

Sixty miles up is considered space by some.  The atmosphere ends at a hundred-twenty miles, I think.