11. How will we know when we're there? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Shuttle astronauts will feel about 3 g's of pressure on their Shuttle pressure suits, which makes it very hard to breathe while lying down strapped into their reclining couches as the Shuttle main engines are firing. When the Shuttle jettisons the large external fuel tank, the main Shuttle engines stop firing, the pressure instantly disappears, and the astronauts feel a very light sensation. They are now in a free fall orbit around Earth and anything not tied down in the cabin floats, or, more accurately, falls freely within the confines of the Shuttle. They are now in a micro-gravity environment and in space!

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Answer provided by Jim Zebrowski

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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