Why do astronauts float around in space?

Answer 1

A common misconception is that its because 'theres no gravity in space'. That is incorrect. There is gravity in space because that's how the Sun keeps the planets, and all the other objects in the solar system, orbiting it. You cannot, however, be drawn to any objects surface (or core in the case of gas giants) if you are outside of the outer reaches of that objects atmosphere. Instead you are, like the Moon around the Earth or the Earth around the Sun, just kept in orbit around an object. This could be the Earth if you are close to it, which in turn means you orbit the Sun, or just simply in orbit round the Sun.

Answer 2

They don't really. They're actually falling the whole time. They look like they're floating because the spaceship they're in is also falling at the same speed. The reason they don't hit the ground even though they're falling is because an object in orbit is also moving sideways; by the time they fall far enough to hit the ground, they've moved sideways far enough that the ground isn't there anymore.

Answer 3

Contrary to popular common belief nothing "floats" in space. Objects are either falling towards something or orbiting something (a special case of falling towards something). No part of the Universe is not effected by gravity.

That being said pictures of space station astronauts with things "floating" are common. This is due to the fact that, since the space station, astronaut, camera man and object are all in the same orbit and falling at the same speed, their relative positions to each other give the illusion of floating.

Answer 4

Any rocks located anywhere in our solar system are ultimately under the control of the sun's gravity; that's what it means for them to be in the solar system. If they are far out, their orbits can be extremely long and slow. Sometimes these objects crash into each other or even into planets, but they are under the influence of gravity either way. They seem to be floating, but so would you if you were out in space drifting in the vast spaces between the planets. Don't think of this as being the same as balsa wood floating on the surface of a lake. They are just objects moving freely, reacting to whatever forces are acting upon them.

Rocks that are outside of our solar system are too far away for us to observe at present, but they are also moving along, reacting to whatever forces are acting on them. Some of them eventually come under the thrall of a larger object's gravity.

Answer 5

The balance between inertia keeping objects moving into space in a straight path and gravity pulling objects down toward the center of mass is the object's orbit around the mass. It is the equilibrium between inertia and gravity that gives the illusion of weightlessness to a body in orbit. The truth is that a U.S. space shuttle in its typical orbit still weighs 85% of what it does on the earth's surface. Gravitational attraction does diminish with the square of the distance between objects, but at orbital distances it's not nearly as it appears. In effect, an orbiting body is flying out into space at a tangent while at the same time falling, and the curved path around the mass that we call orbit is the result. If an object in orbit were to lose its forward momentum, it may not be obvious at first due to lack of reference queues, but that object would be accelerating straight down.

Answer 6

They use walls mostly. Beyond that tethers and hand rails are used to restrain their position to within some limits.