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41 J. Space L. 151 (2017)
The Non Karman Line: An Urban Legend of the Space Age

handle is hein.journals/jrlsl41 and id is 165 raw text is: ARTICLES THE NON KARMAN LINE: AN URBAN LEGEND OF THE SPACE AGE Thomas Gangale* I. INTRODUCTION The von KArmin line, named for the Hungarian-American aer- odynamicist Theodore von Kirmin, is commonly represented as ly- ing at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62.1 statute miles) above the Earth's mean sea level. It is commonly represented by the Fiddra- tion Adronautique Internationale (FAI), an international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics, as the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. The von KArmin line has long been proposed as the basis for the legal delimitation between airspace and outer space; however, the available evidence suggests that von Kirmin himself never pro- posed a boundary at 100 kilometers, and that his engineering work was misinterpreted by lawyers who were seeking an altitude of physical significance as the basis for delimitation. It is doubtful that a line of lasting significance based on aerodynamic theory alone, independent of technological assumptions, can be drawn. For several reasons, the discussion on the legal delimitation of outer space is becoming more topical and important. Since the 1950s, a major role in that discussion has been played by references to the von KirmAn line as a feasible boundary of lasting signifi- cance based on immutable physical principles; however, those ref- erences are inconsistent as to both the altitude of the line and the J.S.D. in space, cyber and telecommunications law, University of Nebraska-Lin- coln College of Law, 2017; M.A. in international relations, San Francisco State Univer- sity, 2006; B.S. in aerospace engineering, University of Southern California, 1978. 151

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