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From: dbb@aicchi.UUCP (Burch)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Re: Swimming in space
Message-ID: <475@aicchi.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-May-85 21:04:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: aicchi.475
Posted: Thu May 16 21:04:29 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 18-May-85 01:35:07 EDT
References: <> <478@nmtvax.UUCP> <343@petrus.UUCP>
Organization: Analysts International Corp; Chicago Branch
Lines: 27

> >     Yes, it would. It has been noticed that objects that are floating in
> > mid air will start to drift, or change directions when the control rockets
> > fire to keep the shuttle pointed the right way, or just change directions.
> > If it does happen to an object, it should be the same for an astronaut.
> 
> Of course, what's REALLY happening is that the objects remain stationary
> in their inertial reference frame, while the ship accelerates "around" them.
> 
> I recall seeing a brief but amusing clip from one of the shuttle missions.
> Whenever one of the astronauts would release a roll of duct tape, it would
> slowly accelerate towards the right and bounce off the wall. If the astronaut
> let go of the handle he was holding, he'd also drift to the right and
> hit the wall. Obviously, an orbit maneuver was going on, but the orbiter
> is so massive that the acceleration given by the OMS is pretty small
> (1/2 m/sec/sec, depending on fuel and cargo load, seems about right from
> memory).
> 
> Phil

Well... What really would happen (assuming no orbital maneuver and the
air blowers are all off) is that the astronaut will reach a wall! This
is because of the fact that the astronaut and the spacecraft are
unlikely to share a centre of gravity, and therefore are in different
orbits around the earth. Quite likely there are tidal and other effects
which would cause the standed fellow to reach a wall eventually...

-Ben Burch, AIC