Von Kármán

The von Kármán is a concept named after the Hungarian-American engineer and physicist Theodore von Kármán. It refers to a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere, specifically the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space, located around 100 kilometers (62 miles) above sea level. This altitude is significant because it marks where the atmosphere becomes too thin to support conventional aircraft flight. In aerospace, reaching the von Kármán line is often associated with the transition from aeronautics (flying within the atmosphere) to astronautics (venturing into space). It represents a key threshold in aviation and space exploration.