That would be the fastest walk! It seems wierd that the shuttle and space station dock while traveling so fast! No wind? Wow.
2006-07-06 06:48:40 · 13 answers · asked by monisanft2001 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Quick Answer is yes.
Longer Answer...they are not actually floating. They are actually falling. This is sort of hard to follow so hang with me here.
Have you ever seen the pictures of the people in the airplane they use for training? They seem weightless...but that is only in reference to the cabin around them. They are actually falling at the same speed as the airplane and hence, in relation to the inside of the plane they are weightless.
Now...even at the height of the space station, or any other sattelite, Earth's gravity is still pulling you in. If you were not moving, you would fall back to Earth. What happens is that the majic number of 17,500 mph makes you miss the surface.
So...this is the reason that when things slow down, they eventually fall back to Earth (ie, space junk, SkyLab, etc). I once asked the question, how far from Earth must one be before it's gravity has no effect. The answer lies somewhere further out than the moon...by a long shot.
Picture this as an example. If I throw a ball parallel to the earth's surface it will, for a very short time travel parallel, but due to friction and gravity will eventually slow enough to be pulled downward in an arc until it hits the ground. If I were to throw the ball at 17,500mph and it maintained that speed, it would still be effected by Earth's gravity, but it's forward momentum would cancel the effects of gravity and it could continue to fall, but miss the earth.
Finally, if I were able to throw it faster than 17,500mph, beyond being a millionare in Major League Baseball, I could also get the ball to escape Earth's gravity head out into space.
So are they travelling at 17,500? Yep. They have to be or they would start falling back to Earth. But because the equipment they work on is also going that fast, they simply do not notice the speed. Next time you are on the highway, look at the cars around you. Especially the ones going about the same speed. If you just focus on the cars, they seem to be standing still or slightly moving. Same idea here.
Hope that helps...or puts you to sleep, whichever is best for you! :-)
2006-07-06 07:34:14 · answer #1 · answered by IC1369 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, they are moving that fast...The shuttle is able to dock because they are moving at that speed relative to the Earth and not relative to each other. In other words, they are traveling the same speed as each other while zooming around in orbit of the Earth. Also, as long as a person is traveling at a constant rate(neither accelerating or decelerating), the effects of their motion is not felt, no matter how fast they are traveling. In other words, the person feels like they are standing still even if they are revolving around the Earth at 17,500mph. Lastly, there is no wind because the effects of wind is created by air. There is no air in space. Space is a vaccuum--no, not the one that ur mom pushes around the room :))) ...lol...
I hope my answer helps you understand....
2006-07-06 07:18:59 · answer #2 · answered by Ξ▼Ξ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are travelling that fast because they are in orbit around the earth. They don't really notice how fast it is while docking because they are moving slowly in relation to each other. There is no wind resistance because they are above the earth's atmosphere.
2006-07-06 06:54:16 · answer #3 · answered by ebk1974 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
speed is relative. relative to the space station, their speed is
almost zero. relative to the earth, they are moving very fast.
Our earth is moving around the Sun (use the Sun as the
reference) with a speed of far more greater than 17,500 mph,
and we all on the earth are moving along.
2006-07-06 06:52:59 · answer #4 · answered by JJ S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
remember, they are only going 17500 mph relative to the earth
they are going about zero, relative to the shuttle they are working on
they are going even faster relative to the planet pluto and who knows how fast relative to a certain planet in the Andromeda galaxy
when they are out in space working on the shuttle, the earth is about as meaningless a reference point for velocity as any other heavenly body
Of course their velocity relative to earth is very important for other tasks, including re-entry.
2006-07-06 06:59:39 · answer #5 · answered by enginerd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, amazing to think about.
Think about pulling into your garage at 17,499 MPH, when the garage is moving at 17,500 MPH
2006-07-06 06:53:15 · answer #6 · answered by luckyaz128 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah man of course I would I want to become an astronaut one day so this would just be the start
2016-03-27 06:34:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is true, it is like standing in your car when you are traveling 65 mph along the highway.
2006-07-06 06:52:58 · answer #8 · answered by tman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"at the speed of" is a relative term. there is no inertial frame of reference in space, they might be moving at that speed with reference to a fixed object in space. otherwise, they are not.
2006-07-06 07:23:49 · answer #9 · answered by manu 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, in space, no atmosphere.
2006-07-06 06:52:14 · answer #10 · answered by Answer King 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋