Free fall
Because of free fall, astronauts in orbit appear weightless and float within their spacecraft. This is due to the spacecraft and everything inside it, including the astronauts, all falling towards Earth together at the same rate. The sensation of weightlessness is a result of this continuous state of free fall.
They are in the vacuum of space.
Yes that is what they are experiencing.
In orbit, astronauts appear weightless and float because they are in a state of constant freefall towards Earth. Due to the lack of air resistance and the gravitational pull being the only force acting on them, they experience the sensation of weightlessness.
Airplanes do not fly high enough to be unaffected by the force of gravity.
Because of free fall in orbit, astronauts experience a continuous state of falling towards Earth while moving forward at a high speed. This results in a sensation of weightlessness, giving the appearance that they are floating or flying inside the spacecraft.
The astronauts appear to be weightless as they are in a constant freefall, falling at the same speed as the space vehicle they are on. They are 'falling' but due to their angular speed, they are 'falling' around the earth, so don't crash into it. They still have their mass, but you can't really weigh the astronauts as any scales you try to use will read zero as the scales will also be 'falling' at the same rate.
You may have seen photos or videos of astronauts who appear to be floating through the air while in space. They aren't flying, nor are they really floating, they are falling. Any orbiting spacecraft (such as the space shuttle or international space station) is actually falling around the Earth in a circular pattern. They have achieved enough speed (over 17,000 mph) to continue moving around the Earth without the Earth's gravity pulling the spacecraft down. Astronauts aboard those spacecraft are moving inside the spacecraft and falling along with them at the same speed giving the appearance that they flying or floating inside.
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.
center of earth
Gravitational force is not absent in space; it is just weaker in areas far from massive bodies. In deep space, where there are no massive objects nearby, the gravitational force is relatively weak. Astronauts onboard spacecraft appear weightless because they are in a state of free fall around the Earth, experiencing a similar acceleration due to gravity as the spacecraft they are in.
There is no gravity in space, so everything (even liquid) will appear to 'float'.