I understand that the International Space Station is only a few hundred kilometres above Earth, where gravity is still substantial. Yet astronauts and loose objects float inside it.
People explain this by saying the station is in continuous free fall. I can picture a falling lift briefly making its occupants feel weightless, but I get stuck on how the ISS keeps falling without reaching the ground.
How does its sideways motion change the situation? And when scientists use the term microgravity aboard the ISS, are they describing a weaker gravitational pull or the conditions experienced by objects inside the station?
A clear explanation using gravity, orbital speed, and what a scale would measure would help more than simply calling space “zero gravity.”
