Role of Altitude in the Design of Aerospace Vehicles

Abstract

The atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the Earth and retained under its gravity. The atmosphere of our planet is made up of blankets of air that contain numerous gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and others. Earth's atmosphere can be differentiated into five regions based on their physical properties such as temperature and pressure. Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere or thermosphere, and exosphere are these zones. The atmosphere provides the platform for these aerospace vehicles, which have taken off from Earth to operate at different altitudes. To investigate and understand the performance of flight tests, wind tunnel tests, and the design of aerospace vehicles or any other flying objects, there is a need for standard values to evaluate the parameters of the airplane or any other objects influenced by aerodynamic forces. Finally, the purpose of this chapter is to help the reader understand what the standard atmosphere is and how it can be utilized to analyze aeronautical vehicles.