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Question
- using the ideas in questions 12 and 13, describe why you think a person in outer space will not have a pull of gravity on them when in space, about 125 kilometers off of earths surface, in orbit.
Gravity is a long - range force. Even at 125 kilometers above Earth's surface, Earth still exerts a gravitational pull on objects. However, in outer space, the sensation of weightlessness is due to the fact that the person and the spacecraft are in a state of free - fall around the Earth. They are constantly falling towards the Earth but moving forward fast enough to stay in orbit. So, a person seems to be weightless but is still under the influence of Earth's gravity.
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A person in outer space is still under Earth's gravitational pull but appears weightless because they are in free - fall in orbit.