Are astronauts weightless in space because they have gone beyond the reach of Earths gravity?
If astronauts are not free from the Earth’s gravity, why do they feel weightless in orbit? The way we feel gravity is by the way we interact with our surroundings. When an astronaut is inside an orbiting spacecraft, both of them move with the same acceleration g (or g(rE/r)2 at distance r). No other force acts, and therefore no force exists that pushes the astronaut towards the floor–or makes standing up require an effort.
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- Are astronauts weightless in space because they have gone beyond the reach of Earths gravity?
