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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
Lots of people seem to think that satellites and astronauts are above the pull of Earth's gravity. The truth is that the pull of the Earth's gravity is weaker up there, but it is still very strong nonetheless. Satellites and astronauts are in what is called freefall. This means that they are actually falling. But because of their sideways motion, they never fall to earth. The earth curves away from them as fast as they fall. They are falling around the earth. They are weightless, but you would be too if you were in a falling elevator. The falling elevator and the orbiting space craft are in very similar situations. The space craft just never hits bottom, unless it fires its engines to change its orbit.