Is there gravity in space?
Yes, there is gravity everywhere in space. Astronauts float not because gravity is missing but because they and their spacecraft are falling around Earth together.
At the height of the International Space Station, about 400 kilometers up, Earth's gravity is still about 90 percent as strong as on the ground. The station is in free fall, constantly falling toward Earth while moving sideways so fast that it keeps missing it. Everything inside falls at the same rate, which creates the feeling of weightlessness.
Scientists call this condition microgravity. You can feel a brief version of it on a roller coaster or in an elevator that drops suddenly. Special airplanes fly up-and-down curves to give passengers about 20 to 25 seconds of weightlessness at a time.
Gravity everywhere
Gravity gets weaker with distance, but it never completely disappears. It keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth, Earth in orbit around the Sun and the Sun moving around the center of the Milky Way. Gravity is what holds galaxies and galaxy clusters together across vast distances.
Did You Know?
Long stays in microgravity weaken astronauts' muscles and bones, so they exercise for about two hours every day on the ISS.