International Organization for Standardization

Space environment (natural and artificial) - Guide to reference and standard atmosphere models - First Edition
 N TR 11225

Annotation

This Technical Report provides guidelines for selected reference and standard atmospheric models for use in engineering design or scientific research. It describes the content of the models, uncertainties and limitations, technical basis, databases from which the models are formed, publication references, and sources of computer code where available for over seventy (70) Earth and planetary atmospheric models, for altitudes from surface to 4000 kilometers, which are generally recognized in the aerospace sciences. This standard is intended to assist aircraft and space vehicle designers and developers, geophysicists, meteorologists, and climatologists in understanding available models, comparing sources of data, and interpreting engineering and scientific results based on different atmospheric models.

This Technical Report summarizes the principal features of the models to the extent the information is available:

• Model content

• Model uncertainties and limitations

• Basis of the model

• Publication references

• Dates of development, authors and sponsors

• Model codes and sources

The models are listed in the table of contents according to whether they are primarily global, middle atmosphere, thermosphere, range, or regional (i.e., applying only to a specific geographic location). This division is admittedly somewhat arbitrary because many of the models embody elements of several of the categories listed.