Why are astronauts weightless in the space station? because they are in a constant state of free fall around the Earth. Newton’s 1st law: An object remains in motion at constant velocity, or remains at rest, unless acted upon by a net force.
Accordingly, is it true that an astronaut is weightless in space quizlet?
there is still gravity in space . but astronauts feel weightless because they are orbiting earth at the same rate as there space shuttle.
Similarly, why are the astronauts in space weightless but not without mass? According to our textbook, weight is described as “The force that gravity exerts on the object.” There is zero gravity in space, so therefore the astronauts are weightless. But they are not massless, because mass is an indicator of the amount of matter in it. Mass is measured independent of gravity.
Thereof, why does an astronaut float in the International Space Station quizlet?
They’re falling toward Earth and moving forward at about the same velocity. Because the downward and forward forces are nearly equal, the astronauts are not pulled in any specific direction, so they float.