Why aren't astronauts weightless in space?

They actually are weightless, due to the fact there is no gravity in space. However a sky-diver would say he/she feels weightless, but they are experiencing free-fall.

Most astronauts never escape Earths gravity. They only feel weightless because they are falling around the earth in an orbit at the same speeed as the shuttle or spacestation they are in. Only the 24 astronauts who have made it to the moon were technically weightless as they traveled through "outer space".

Astronauts are weightless in space because there is no gravity in space. The lack of gravity is what allows them to float.

the absence of the gravitational force or field in space causes the astronauts to become weightless

They do not. Astronauts in space are effectively weightless, so for them, there is no up or down; the idea of "upright" has no meaning.

they are falling through space around earth

The statement that astronauts on the Moon are weightless is true.

In space, astronauts will encounter a bunch of possible problems. Being weightless, space sickness, radiation, life support are the top problems.

Because of the weightless conditions in space, astronauts' muscles are not getting exercised therefore they waste away.

Yes, but they do have the same mass. Weight is based off the effect of gravity pulling something down, because there is no gravity in space astronauts are weightless.

As there is no gravity in space, everything will float. .......... Because They're in free fall ... .....

What happens to your bones when you are weightless, is that your bones will get weaker and weaker. That is why everyday, astronauts, have to spend two hours on a treadmill everyday of there space expedition.

The reason why astronauts have reduced skeletons is quite simple actually. The weightless environment in space that astronauts live and work in causes a loss of muscle and bone mass.

There is gravity in space. How else would the planets stay in orbit? im learning about gravity right now in science class. astronauts feel weightless in space because they are at a constant state of free fall. the earths gravity has less effect on the astronaut in orbit. the gravitational pull is not as much in space, but there is gravity which causes the astronaut to feel weightless while in orbit.

The astronauts would experience weightlessness.

Here is, how: http://urvilag.hu/article.php?id=3489

because you have no gravity

when the rockets stop firing, astronauts begin free fall (weightless).

Any object in orbit is essentially falling as fast as it can possibly fall already. They're not actually "weightless", but everything around them is falling at the same speed, so they might as well be.

Weight is an expression of the gravitational force acting on an object. When the space shuttle is in orbit around the Earth, it is held there by the Earth's gravity. Since gravity is still acting on the shuttle and the astronauts inside, they still have weight. They are described as "weightless" because an object in orbit is in a constant state of free fall.

It makes astronauts weightless.

there are not reaction forces on them

No, quite the opposite. They experience up to three times the normal force of gravity during the launch.

Airplanes do not fly high enough to be unaffected by the force of gravity.

Because they are weightless. There is no gravity in space.