Al the astronaut has a weight of 1600 N when he is standing on the surface of earth. What is the force of gravity action on him when he is in space station orbiting earth at a distance of four earth radii from the center of the earth?

2 answers

force of gravity?
F=1600/4^2
net force is zero, of course, as he is in orbit.
Your answer is correct, but the net force of an orbiting object is not zero. Objects in circular motion have a net force that points to the center of the circle that generates the centripetal force