Why Does a Shuttle Need to Be in a Circular Orbit for Apparent Weightlessness?

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A shuttle does not need to be in a circular orbit to achieve apparent weightlessness; any freefall condition, such as an elliptical or parabolic orbit, results in the same effect. Both the astronauts and the shuttle experience weightlessness because they fall at the same acceleration. Achieving apparent weightlessness was not a specific design requirement for the shuttle; it was simply a byproduct of maintaining a stable orbit. The key factor is the state of freefall rather than the shape of the orbit. Thus, the design focused on stability rather than the necessity of a circular path for weightlessness.
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Is it important that a shuttle surrounds the Earth in an circular orbit in order the astronauts (and the shuttle itself) to have 0 apparent weight and so be considered as in state of apparent weightlessness?
 
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No, as long as they are in freefall at all, in an elliptic orbit, or a parabolic curve that will return to earth, both astronauts and shuttle are falling at the same acceleration and so weightless.
 
I don't think it was a part of anybody's design constraints to achieve apparent weightlessness on the Shuttle. That was just a consequence of achieving a stable orbit.
 

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