Tension is causing me to be tensed

[nasu]

He has to hold on.

Yes, I see what you mean.
His muscles in the hand have to be strong enough to either hold on by friction with the rope (enough normal force) or to keep his fingers "hooked" around some handle.
If the acceleration is too high he may not be able to.

But as you said (for the n-th time), this is not relevant for the reaction on the first astronaut. Maybe just indirectly. If he let go then the interaction at the other end changes.

 

[Dale]

His muscles in the hand have to be strong enough to either hold on by friction with the rope (enough normal force) or to keep his fingers "hooked" around some handle.
If the acceleration is too high he may not be able to.

Yes. Your earlier example of the boat and the water skier is very appropriate. I learned that lesson the hard way when I was quite young, much to my embarrassment. The maximum amount of force that the rope could exert on was limited by my grip strength.

But as you said (for the n-th time), this is not relevant for the reaction on the first astronaut. Maybe just indirectly. If he let go then the interaction at the other end changes.

Yes, and if the rope is modeled more realistically (non zero mass and non infinite stiffness) then the disconnect becomes more obvious.

 

[Sayam Banerjee]

EddiePhy ...u need to consider the free body concept...it'll clear as crystal...