Why Planes/Balloons Can't Reach Space - Earth's Atmosphere Layers скачать в хорошем качестве

Why Planes/Balloons Can't Reach Space - Earth's Atmosphere Layers

Ever wondered why planes and balloons can’t reach space, what happens between the earth and space, and where does outer space begin? Earth's atmosphere is divided into five layers. Planes usually fly at altitudes of around 35,000 ft within the lowest layer of our atmosphere, which is called Troposphere. At 9 miles above the sea level, we reach the stratosphere layer. This is where you’ll find the important ozone layer. Very few planes can fly through this layer because the air is so thin that there is not enough lift to keep the plane aloft. At 25 miles, Alan Eustace set the world record for the highest skydive by jumping to Earth from a helium balloon in 2014. A little further up, at 33 miles, is where an unmanned balloon named BU60-1 set the world’s highest balloon altitude record in 2002. At 32 miles, we reach the Mesosphere layer. This is where lightning occurs. This is also the layer in which most meteors start burning up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. They burn up because Mesosphere is the highest layer of the atmosphere in which there are enough air and gases to cause friction and heat. At 54 miles, we reach the Thermosphere. At 62 miles of altitude, we reach the Karman line, which commonly represents the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. The Karman line is where the speed necessary to maintain altitude is equal to escape velocity. Escape velocity is the speed at which an object must travel to break free of a planet. A rocket exiting the Earth needs to be going at 33 times the speed of sound to enter orbit. Achieving escape velocity is one of the biggest challenges of space travel. A spacecraft requires a huge amount of fuel to break through the Karman line. If you can ever go beyond the Karman line, you will be called an astronaut. At 200 miles, we reach the International Space Station. 230 individuals from 18 countries have visited this station so far. Above the Thermosphere is the Exosphere. No human, except the 24 astronauts who visited the moon in 1969, has ever traveled to this layer. This layer begins at 311 to 620 miles and ends at around 6200 miles above the sea level. The moon is still hundreds of thousands of miles away from the edge of the Exosphere.