Astronauts inside the Space Shuttle float around as it orbits the Earth because?

Question

a) there is no gravity in space
b) they are falling in the same way as the space shuttle
c) they are above the earth's atmosphere
d)there is less gravity inside the space shuttle
e) more than one of the above

Answer 1

a) is the correct answer

Answer 2

There should be an f) none of the above

Gravity is everywhere (All objects with mass, even humans, exert some measure of gravitational attraction) so A is not correct.

B is the closest answer, however, "weightlessness" is created by the equality of two forces while in orbit.

An orbit is created when a crafts tangential speed to the orbit is great enough that centrifugal force balances gravity force.

Think of it like a ball on a string. If you swing it around fast enough the string will stay tight (Tension force on the string equals centrifugal force) and the ball will fly around. An orbit is pretty much just like that, except the ball is a spacecraft or planet and the string is gravity...

Answer 3

The answer is B, they are freefalling around the Earth (which pretty much defines an orbit) with the shuttle.

It's not A, because the gravity in low Earth orbit is pretty much the same as it is on the surface, only slightly less. It's not C because the atmosphere has nothing to do with it. D is technically true but like I said, the difference is small so it certainly isn't the reason why they float about.

Edit: Why do I have 2 thumbs down? Centrifugal force as one answerer put it has nothing to do with it. The weightlessness is caused by the fact that the shuttle is in a free-fall. Do a little research and you will know this. It's the same reason you feel lighter when going down a drop in a roller coaster, and why NASA operates large planes that fly a parabolic trajectory to do a free-fall to create a micro-gravity environment for a short time.

B is the correct answer with no qualifications, and the other 3 options have nothing to do with it. Read the following article to see that my answer is perfectly and completely correct:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weightlessness

Answer 4

The first two answerers are wrong -- there is gravity everywhere.

The speed of the space shuttle whizzing round the earth creates centrifugal force which balances out gravity. That is why the shuttle has to reach a certain speed to maintain orbit. The closest answer to correct is (b), though "falling" is not quite the correct term as the space shuttle is getting no closer to earth until they slow themselves down and start dropping.

Answer 5

Answer B.

The Space Shuttle has to reach a certain speed to achieve orbit, and as it circles around the Earth its speed nullifies gravity. As a result, the Astronauts float about in an apparently gravity free environment.

Answer 6

They're in free-fall. Keep in mind here that the moon orbits the earth so it's well within earth's gravity. In orbit everything is falling at the same rate so things inside the shuttle appear to be weightless. You can do the same thing on a trampoline by letting go of a ball on your way down. It will fall at the same speed you do and therefore appear to be weightless relative to you. Centrifugal force has nothing to do with it. If that were true, everything would tend to fly away from the center of rotation and paste itself against one side of the ship. (sigh) Sometimes I weep for our so-called education system.

Answer 7

The correct answer is "B". The shuttle, and they, are both falling at the same rate, same speed, and same direction.

If you were in an elevator that suddenly broke it's cable, you'd be able to float in much the same manner. (Until the sudden stop at the end.)

Answer 8

None is exactly correct, though I'll take (b) if I have to choose one. Sandy's answer is pretty good.

Answer 9

a...let's ALL do your homework!!