0
True or false. Orbiting astronauts feel weightless because they are beyond the gravitational pull of the earth?
Mukimuki
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.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoSorry. The gravitational attraction between the earth and moon is what keeps the moon
bound to the earth, and the moon is about a thousand times farther from earth than the
astronauts in orbit are. If there were no gravity to attract the astronauts toward the earth,
they wouldn't do any orbiting at all; they'd just fly off in a straight line and never come back.
They're weightless because they're continually falling toward the center of the earth. But they're
also moving sideways, fast enough so that the earth curves away from their path as fast as they
fall, and the result is a circular path.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Are astronauts really weightless in orbit why not?
because both the astronaut and the satellite is attracted towards the center of the earth
Why did the astronauts in endurance gained gravity when they are in space from the movie interstellar?
The astronauts in endurance gained gravity in the movie interstellar because the gravitational field used on set was extremely intense and changed very quickly.
Why do astronauts feel weightless while in orbit?
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.
Why do astronauts experience less gravitational force?
They don't. They have just as much gravitational force on them as you and me. The difference is the two initial frames of reference. You and I are being held down to planet. They are "falling" around the planet in an orbital free fall.
How could working underwater help astronauts practice being in space?
Because if weighted properly, they can be neutrally boyant. In other words, they're as close to weightless as they can get on earth. The astronauts train underwater to give them a sense of what its like to do their task while weightless and also to practice the peocedures required for their task. The first astronaut to take advantage was Buzz Aldrin when he trained for his Gemini 12 mission. Aldrin was and is still an avid scuba diver. He noticed the similarity between water and space. His succees on Gemin 12 made underwater training the norm for all astronaut extravehicular training.
Because of free fall astronauts appear this way in orbit?
Weightless
Because of freefall astronauts appear this way in orbit?
weightless
When astronauts appear weightless it is actually because they are actually in what?
They are in the vacuum of space.
A friend says that astronauts in orbit are weightless because they're beyond the pull of earth's gravity correct your friend's ignorance?
Astronauts are weightless in space because there is no gravity in space. The lack of gravity is what allows them to float.
Why are astronauts floating above the Earth in a Space Shuttle really no weightless?
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.
Why do you not feel weightless if flying in a large airplane at a high altitute but if you were in an orbiting spacecraft you would constantly feel weightless?
That's because an orbiting spacecraft is constantly falling, but ... let's hope ... the aircraft you're riding in is not.
Are astronauts weightless in orbit?
As there is no gravity in space, everything will float........... Because They're in free fall ........
Are astronauts really weightless in orbit why not?
because both the astronaut and the satellite is attracted towards the center of the earth
Are austronaughts really weightless in space?
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.
When an object is in free fall is it weightless?
Because the object's inertial motion is equal to the gravitational acceleration. Weight equals mass times gravitational acceleration (W=mg), so you would feel weightless, but your mass stays the same.
What does gravatational pull do?
Gravitational pull is so the planets keep orbiting around the sun because of its gravitational pull
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.
