Why do astronauts feel weightless in orbit?

[parwana]

Why does an astronaut in a spacecraft orbiting the Earth experience a feeling of weightlessness?

 

[OlderDan]

Why does an astronaut in a spacecraft orbiting the Earth experience a feeling of weightlessness?

What do you normally feel when you are at rest on earth? What would be different if you were in a spacecraft in orbit?

 

[SGT]

The sensation of weight is really the normal force the floor exerts on you. If you are in orbit, both you and the floor are falling with the same speed towards Earth, so there is no normal force and no weight sensation.