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Astronauts in orbit are weightless, but not because they are beyond the pull of earth's gravity. If the moon, roughly 240,000 miles away, is within the influence of earth's gravity, so is an astronaut just a few miles up in comparison. Astronauts are weightless because they are in orbit, and being in orbit can be thought of very roughly as a special kind of freefall. They are held by gravity, but they are also moving along a path that keeps them from descending appreciably during their flight. If you remember clips you have seen of astronauts in the space station, floating freely, you can see how futile it would be to try to 'stand' on an ordinary house scale to measure how 'heavy' they are in pounds. But if you could sling an astronaut around on a kind of mass-measuring centrifuge (not too fast, of course) you would see that they are maintaining a healthy mass. Weight and mass are different measures, even if they seem to be indistinguishable on the earth's surface.
What else can I help you with?
True or false. Orbiting astronauts feel weightless because they are beyond the gravitational pull of the earth?
False.Orbiting astronauts feel weightlessness since the gravitational pull of the Earth is balanced by the centrifugal force due to the circular orbital motion, which balance each other out since the spaceship is in orbit. That is, the weightlessness is because of no net force on the astronaut.In a nutshell, if you are orbiting, then irrespective of what height you're doing it, you'd be weightless.
You are explaining to friends why astronauts feel weightless orbiting in the space shuttle and they respond that they thought gravity was just a lot weaker up there?
It depends. If there is an orbit, the motion may provide a force in the opposite direction as the gravity, leading to weightlessness. Of course, the force goes down as 1/(r*r), where r is the radius of separation.
How did the astronauts know the moon was safe?
While they didn't know with absolute certainty that it was safe, previous unmanned missions to the moon (such as the Surveyor missions) had proven quite successful, and while no mission like the moon landing can ever be completely safe, the astronauts didn't feel they were taking any undue risk with their lives.
Why does an astronaut float in outer space?
When you see astronauts in space, they are in orbit. A person or object in orbit is essentially in freefall. If you have gone on a roller coast or gone bungee jumping, you will have found that you feel weightless when you are in freefall. It is the same case with astronauts in orbit. Another way of seeing it is that the astronauts are falling at the same rate that the spacecraft is.
Why are astronauts able to ride at night?
Because they feel like it, dude!!
Why do astronauts feel weightless in a space shuttle?
Because of gravity
Where does an astronaut start to feel weightless?
when the rockets stop firing, astronauts begin free fall (weightless).
If the space station were in a geosynchronous orbit above the earth would the people be weightless?
Yes, people on the space station in a geosynchronous orbit above Earth would still experience microgravity, which can make them feel weightless. This is because they are continuously falling towards Earth due to the balance between their forward motion and the planet's gravitational pull.
Why do astronauts in orbit feel weightlessness?
they are falling through space around earth
Why do astronauts feel weightlessness?
They feel weightless because they are indeed weightless when in orbit, in effect in freefall. Gravity tries to pull them down but the spacecraft motion carries it "past the planet" in an arc that is part of a circular or elliptical orbit. If the spacecraft slows down, it will be pulled toward the Earth by the considerable gravitational force. If an astronaut tries to use an ordinary scale to measure her weight, all attempts will be useless. The vessel she is in is under the influence of Earth's gravity, it is true, as is her body. But the vessel and her body are in the same orbit, at the same velocity. If she is motionless at the center of the vessel, no unbalanced forces will push her "down" toward the floor or hull of the vessel. And if there are some unbalanced forces, they are so small as to be negligible for all practical purposes. She will not be able to 'step' onto a scale, unless she is in some kind of rotating vessel, which would provide a kind of artificial gravity.
Are astronauts weightless during the Shuttle's launch?
Noop. In fact, as the Shuttle is accelerating, the astronauts are experiencing not only the pull of gravity, but also the acceleration of the rocket. For the comfort of the crew, they try to keep the excess gravity to about 4 G, basically 4 times the pull of gravity. Only after the engines have stopped, and the shuttle is no longer accelerating, will the astronauts feel weightless, as the Shuttle and astronauts are all falling around the Earth at the same speed.
What area marks the boundary where the earth's atmosphere is constrained by gravity?
There is no boundary where Earth's atmosphere is constrained by gravity. Many feel that astronauts orbiting above the Earth are weightless because they are far away from Earth's gravity , but weightlessness is actually caused by the free-falling of an object that is in orbit.
What are two ways a person can feel weightless?
1. Be in a state where your body has no significant exogenous gravitiational forces are acting on it. You would have to be removed from our solar system and in a location where no other bodies of mass (stars, planets, etc) were far enough from you so you did not feel any gravitiational affects from them. 2. Be in a state where the only force acting on you is the force of gravity. Example would be an object dropped on the moon; while it is falling it would be weightless. One can experience this on earth (astronouts orbiting the earth) but drag from the earth's atmosphere will create an opposing force which you will feel acting on your body.
True or false. Orbiting astronauts feel weightless because they are beyond the gravitational pull of the earth?
False.Orbiting astronauts feel weightlessness since the gravitational pull of the Earth is balanced by the centrifugal force due to the circular orbital motion, which balance each other out since the spaceship is in orbit. That is, the weightlessness is because of no net force on the astronaut.In a nutshell, if you are orbiting, then irrespective of what height you're doing it, you'd be weightless.
Why you feel weightless in lift?
You feel weightless in a lift because the lift and everything inside it, including you, are accelerating downward at the same rate. This acceleration cancels out the force of gravity acting on you, making you feel weightless.
What is the G-force experienced by astronauts while the rocket escapes earth's gravity into outer space?
During a rocket launch, astronauts can experience up to 3-4 times the force of gravity (3-4G) depending on the rocket and mission profile. Once the rocket reaches outer space and escapes Earth's gravity, astronauts experience microgravity, where they feel weightless and are in free fall around the Earth.
Do astronauts in orbit around the earth experience the same gravitational force as they do on ground?
Yes, but they do not "feel" gravity, because they are falling - "free fall" in orbit around the Earth.
