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NASA superpressure balloon preparing for a mission to near space in 2015

Near space is the upper region of the Earth's atmosphere between airspace and outer space. It is sometimes referred to as the "edge of space".[1] There is no legal definition for this extent,[2] but typically this is the altitude range from 20 to 100 km (12 to 62 mi).[3][4]

Range

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The lower limit of this region is set by the flight envelope of normal aircraft. For safety reasons, commercial aircraft are normally limited to altitudes of 12 km (7.5 mi), and air navigation services only extend to 18 to 20 km (11 to 12 mi).[3] The upper limit of the near space range is the Kármán line at 100 km (62 mi), where astrodynamics must take over from aerodynamics in order to achieve flight.[5] This range includes the stratosphere, mesosphere and lower thermosphere layers of the Earth's atmosphere.[6]

Larger ranges for near space are used by some authors, such as 18 to 160 km (11 to 99 mi). These extend from the Armstrong limit to the altitudes where orbital flight in very low Earth orbits becomes practical.[7][8] Spacecraft have entered into a highly elliptical orbit with a perigee as low as 80 to 90 km (50 to 56 mi), surviving for multiple orbits. At an altitude of 120 km (75 mi),[9] descending spacecraft begin atmospheric entry as atmospheric drag becomes noticeable. For spaceplanes such as NASA's Space Shuttle, this begins the process of switching from steering with thrusters to maneuvering with aerodynamic control surfaces.[10]

Applications

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Craft that fly in near space include high-altitude balloons, non-rigid airships, rockoons, sounding rockets, and the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. It is of growing interest for the use of various high-altitude platform stations.[3][11] This region can provide long-term sensing of a duration and quality that is unavailable via satellites.[4] The potential uses for unmanned near–space vehicles include persistent ground surveillance and communications (including relays), both for military and commercial uses.[12] Near-space is a level flight operating region for hypersonic vehicles.[13]

Although there are no clouds or storms in near space, wind is still a significant factor that can require station-keeping of a long-term vehicle. This region is located below the ionosphere, which can impact electrical signals that pass through it. The ionosphere can significantly degrade microwave signals from orbiting satellites, a disadvantage that near-earth vehicles lack.[4]

Near space has been used for scientific ballooning for over two centuries,[14] for applications such as submillimetre astronomy.[15] High-altitude balloons are flown by students and by amateur groups, for both scientific and educational purposes.[16] One example are so-called PongSats.[17] Near space is also a potential market for tourism balloon flights.[18]

Natural phenomena

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Main articles: stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere
Upper atmospheric lightning

The stratosphere is a layer of the atmosphere that extends from below near space up to an altitude of 50 km (31 mi),[19] although this can vary with latitude and seasons. The air here is very dry, but icy nacreous clouds can appear near the poles in the lower stratosphere during the winter. Temperature rises with increasing altitude and thus there is very little vertical convection, allowing compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons to remain in the stratosphere for a long duration. Ozone is relatively abundant in this layer, forming an ozone layer that absorbs ultraviolet radiation.[20]

Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere, which ranges up to 85 km (53 mi) in altitude. Near the base of this region, the temperature is about −15 °C (5 °F), and it declines with increasing height. The air pressure is sufficiently dense to decelerate meteors, causing them to burn up.[19] During the summer months at high latitudes, noctilucent clouds form from ice crystals at these altitudes.[21]

At its upper bounds:

Atmospheric tides are large-scale oscillations created by cycles of solar radiation absorption. These propagate from the lower atmosphere up into the thermosphere, transporting energy and momentum. They couple together the different atmospheric layers through their dynamic behavior and interactions. Temperature variations created by atmospheric tides can control the appearance of ice particles in the mesosphere.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jun, He (February 10, 2023). "Technology And Military Competition In The Near Space – Analysis". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  2. ^ Su, Jinyuan (May 2013). "Near space as a sui generis zone: A tri-layer approach of delimitation". Space Policy. 29 (2): 90–92. Bibcode:2013SpPol..29...90S. doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2013.03.009.
  3. ^ a b c Liu, Hao; Tronchetti, Fabio (2019). "Regulating Near-Space Activities: Using the Precedent of the Exclusive Economic Zone as a Model?" (PDF). Ocean Development & International Law. 50 (2–3): 91–116. doi:10.1080/00908320.2018.1548452. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  4. ^ a b c Wang, Wen-Qin (2011). Near-Space Remote Sensing: Potential and Challenges. SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 1–4. ISBN 9783642221880.
  5. ^ Rao, TH Anand (April 6, 2024). "Exploring Near Space: Myths, Realities, and Military Implications". CAPS India. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
  6. ^ Luo, Wenhui; et al. (November 19, 2024). "Spatial and Temporal Characterization of Near Space Temperature and Humidity and Their Driving Influences". Remote Sensing. 16 (22): 4307. Bibcode:2024RemS...16.4307L. doi:10.3390/rs16224307. ISSN 2072-4292.
  7. ^ Malinowski, Bartosz (2024). "The Legal Status of Suborbital Aviation Within the International Regulatory Framework for Air and Space Use". Regulatory Dilemmas of Suborbital Flight. Space Regulations Library. Vol. 10. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 13–43. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-75087-8_2. ISBN 978-3-031-75086-1.
  8. ^ Grest, Heiner (July 2022). "High-Altitude Platform Systems". The Journal of the JAPCC. 34. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  9. ^ McDowell, Jonathan C. (October 2018). "The edge of space: Revisiting the Karman Line". Acta Astronautica. 151: 668–677. arXiv:1807.07894. Bibcode:2018AcAau.151..668M. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.07.003.
  10. ^ Petty, John Ira (February 13, 2003), "Entry", Human Spaceflight, NASA, archived from the original on October 27, 2011, retrieved 2011-12-16.
  11. ^ Pelton, J. N. (2020). "High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as an Alternative to Small Satellites". In Pelton, J. N.; Madry, S. (eds.). Handbook of Small Satellites. Springer, Cham. pp. 385–399. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-36308-6_19. ISBN 978-3-030-36307-9.
  12. ^ Schmidt, David K.; et al. (March 2007). "Near-Space Station-Keeping Performance of a Large High-Altitude Notional Airship". Journal of Aircraft. 44 (2): 611–615. doi:10.2514/1.24863.
  13. ^ Hu, Ruifeng; et al. (August 2009). "Aerodynamic map for soft and hard hypersonic level flight in near space". Acta Mechanica Sinica. 25 (4): 571–575. Bibcode:2009AcMSn..25..571H. doi:10.1007/s10409-009-0264-4.
  14. ^ Vernon Jones, W. (2005). Evolution of scientific research ballooning (PDF). 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference Pune. Vol. 10. pp. 173–184. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  15. ^ Walker, Christopher K.; et al. 10 meter sub-orbital large balloon reflector (LBR). 2014 IEEE Aerospace Conference – Big Sky, MT, United States, Mar 1 2014 – Mar 8 2014. IEEE Computer Society. doi:10.1109/AERO.2014.6836469.
  16. ^ Flaten, J. National survey of high-altitude ballooning by higher education institutions. Academic High Altitude Conference. Vol. 2012. pp. 173–182. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  17. ^ David, Leonard (September 14, 2012). "Ping-Pong Ball "Satellites" Have Balloon Ride to Edge of Space". Scientific American. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  18. ^ Rees, C. T.; et al. (June 2023). "Radiation risk assessment for varying space weather conditions for very high altitude 'near space' tourism balloon flights". Journal of Space Safety Engineering. 10 (2): 197–207. doi:10.1016/j.jsse.2023.03.002.
  19. ^ a b "Layers of the Atmosphere". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
  20. ^ "The Stratosphere - overview". scied.ucar.edu. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  21. ^ "Noctilucent Clouds". NASA. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
  22. ^ "Atmospheric tides". Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics. Retrieved 2025-03-19.

Further reading

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