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Astronauts on the International Space Station feel weightless because:

(A) Their apparent weight is zero.

(B) They are far enough above the earth's surface that the gravitational force is negligible.

(C) They are above the earth's atmosphere.

(D) The gravity of the earth and the sun are directed opposite each other, so there is no net gravitational force.

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Sagar Yadav
Sagar YadavLv10
15 Jan 2021
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Related textbook solutions

Physics: Principles with Applications
7th Edition, 2013
Giancoli
ISBN: 9780321625922

Related questions

13.15 - Calculate the earth's gravity force on a 75-kg astronaut who is repairing the Hubble Space Telescope 600 km above the earth's surface, and then compare this value with his weight at the earth's surface. In view of your result, explain why it is said that astronauts are weightless when they orbit the earth in a satellite such as a space shuttle. Is it because the gravitational pull of the earth is negligibly small?

You are explaining to friends why astronauts feel weightless orbiting in the space shuttle, and they respond that they thought gravity was just a lot weaker up there. Convince them and yourself that it isn't so by calculating how much weaker gravity is 400 above the Earth's surface.

The figure below shows a picture of American astronaut Clay Anderson experiencing weightlessness onboard the International Space Station.

(a) Most people have the misconception that a person in a spacecraft is weightless because he or she is no longer affected by gravity. Show that this premise cannot be true by computing the gravitational field of the Earth at an altitude of 200 km, the typical altitude of a spacecraft in orbit. Compare this result with the gravitational field on the surface of the Earth.

(b) Why would astronauts in orbit experience weightlessness even if they are experiencing a gravitational field (and therefore a gravitational force)?

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