If you’re ever on a Virgin Galactic flight—lucky you—they go to 50 miles up. That’s officially space. You’ll see a 360-degree view of Earth, and you’ll float around like a confused jellyfish. The price tag? About $450,000. For that, you could buy a house and a very nice inflatable swimming pool. But the view is free… if you ignore the cost.
Meanwhile, the International Space Station orbits at roughly 250 miles. That’s so high that Earth looks like a blue marble in a black velvet bag. Not a single plane—not even a Blackbird—can touch that. So next time you’re complaining about the legroom, just whisper to your neighbor: “We’re closer to space than we think.” They’ll either be impressed or call the flight attendant to move seats.
And that, my friends, is the glorious, ridiculous, surprisingly scientific answer to “How high does a plane fly?” High enough to see the curve of the Earth, but low enough that you can still tell your friend below you’re eating a bag of pretzels. Now sit back, relax, and don’t forget to look out the window. The view is pretty good from up here.
