Space is generally considered to begin at the Kármán line, which is about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth's sea level. This is the internationally recognized boundary where the atmosphere becomes too thin for conventional aircraft to generate lift, and spacecraft must rely on orbital velocity to stay aloft
. For context, the International Space Station orbits much higher, roughly 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, and the Hubble Space Telescope operates at about 340 miles (550 kilometers) altitude
. The Moon is far beyond this boundary, orbiting Earth at an average distance of about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers)
. In summary, the edge of space is only about 62 miles above Earth, though objects in orbit and celestial bodies are much farther away
