Loading video...

Video Failed to Load

There was a problem loading this video. This could be due to a temporary network issue or the video might be unavailable.

Isaac Newton’s cannonball thought experiment shows that orbit is continuous freefall. Objects like the International Space Station fall toward Earth but move forward fast enough to keep missing it as the planet curves away—creating orbit.

Science girl

6,002,469 subscribers

78,997 views • 4 months ago •via X (Twitter)

Anya Rossi• Live Now

Private livecam show

0 Comments

No comments available

Comments from the original post will appear here

Related Videos

🛰️ Why Satellites Never Fall Back to Earth 🤯 If you throw a stone straight up, it comes back down. But what if you throw it sideways, and you throw it fast enough? Something strange happens. The object starts falling toward Earth… but it never actually hits it. That’s because Earth is round. As the object moves forward, the ground curves away beneath it. So it keeps falling, missing the planet again and again. This endless fall is what we call an orbit. No magic. No invisible strings. Just speed, gravity, and a perfect balance. Every satellite above your head is in a constant fall — forever chasing the ground, but never reaching it. Once you see it this way, space suddenly feels a lot less distant… and a lot more mysterious. 🌍

🛰️ Why Satellites Never Fall Back to Earth 🤯 If you throw a stone straight up, it comes back down. But what if you throw it sideways, and you throw it fast enough? Something strange happens. The object starts falling toward Earth… but it never actually hits it. That’s because Earth is round. As the object moves forward, the ground curves away beneath it. So it keeps falling, missing the planet again and again. This endless fall is what we call an orbit. No magic. No invisible strings. Just speed, gravity, and a perfect balance. Every satellite above your head is in a constant fall — forever chasing the ground, but never reaching it. Once you see it this way, space suddenly feels a lot less distant… and a lot more mysterious. 🌍

Night Sky Now

29,133 views • 6 months ago

How do satellites stay in orbit and not fall to Earth? If you launch an object with sufficient speed, it will continually fall toward Earth, but the Earth will also move out from under it.

How do satellites stay in orbit and not fall to Earth? If you launch an object with sufficient speed, it will continually fall toward Earth, but the Earth will also move out from under it.

Black Hole

217,504 views • 7 months ago

Drawing blood is a regular part of life aboard the International International Space Station, helping scientists study how the human body adapts to space. Here’s what it looks like in orbit.

Drawing blood is a regular part of life aboard the International International Space Station, helping scientists study how the human body adapts to space. Here’s what it looks like in orbit.

Jonny Kim

128,562 views • 8 months ago

From Earth to orbit, cultures, crews, and missions unite 250 miles above our world. A heartfelt welcome to the #Ax4 crew as they join Expedition 73 aboard the International International Space Station.

From Earth to orbit, cultures, crews, and missions unite 250 miles above our world. A heartfelt welcome to the #Ax4 crew as they join Expedition 73 aboard the International International Space Station.

NASA's Johnson Space Center

40,308 views • 1 year ago

64 years ago Today, Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in space. "First Orbit" is a movie available in 30 languages that recreates the pioneering first orbit with shots from the International Space Station.

64 years ago Today, Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in space. "First Orbit" is a movie available in 30 languages that recreates the pioneering first orbit with shots from the International Space Station.

Massimo

56,470 views • 1 year ago

2026 starts with a glow, literally. Orbit has a way of making the future feel wide open. ✨ This International Space Station timelapse reflects the spirit of renewal that drives each mission, as astronauts orbit Earth every 90 minutes supporting science, technology, and international partnership. And as we mark 25 years of continuous human presence in orbit, the horizon feels more open than ever. What possibilities do you see on your horizon?

2026 starts with a glow, literally. Orbit has a way of making the future feel wide open. ✨ This International Space Station timelapse reflects the spirit of renewal that drives each mission, as astronauts orbit Earth every 90 minutes supporting science, technology, and international partnership. And as we mark 25 years of continuous human presence in orbit, the horizon feels more open than ever. What possibilities do you see on your horizon?

NASA's Johnson Space Center

25,828 views • 7 months ago

Our next launch to the International Space Station is sending up studies to protect against space radiation, test cold welding in low Earth orbit, and understand the solar wind. Learn more about the latest ISS_Research:

Our next launch to the International Space Station is sending up studies to protect against space radiation, test cold welding in low Earth orbit, and understand the solar wind. Learn more about the latest ISS_Research:

NASA

470,645 views • 1 year ago

Now is the time to meet NASA's call to transition its low-Earth orbit presence from the International Space Station (ISS) to a lower-cost commercial option. Vast is ready to deliver for America and our international partners. We will be delivering the world's first, most affordable, commercial space station in 2026: Haven-1. Haven-1 will be Vast's first step toward a long-term commercial presence in orbit. Purpose-built for scientific research, in-space manufacturing, and human habitation, Haven-1 will ensure humanity’s presence in low-Earth orbit. Backed by a world-class team and built with speed, safety, and efficiency at its core, this marks the next era in human space exploration—not just reaching orbit, but staying there. Learn more about how we are making it happen.

Now is the time to meet NASA's call to transition its low-Earth orbit presence from the International Space Station (ISS) to a lower-cost commercial option. Vast is ready to deliver for America and our international partners. We will be delivering the world's first, most affordable, commercial space station in 2026: Haven-1. Haven-1 will be Vast's first step toward a long-term commercial presence in orbit. Purpose-built for scientific research, in-space manufacturing, and human habitation, Haven-1 will ensure humanity’s presence in low-Earth orbit. Backed by a world-class team and built with speed, safety, and efficiency at its core, this marks the next era in human space exploration—not just reaching orbit, but staying there. Learn more about how we are making it happen.

Vast

97,541 views • 1 year ago

Believe it or not- Everything you see in this frame is falling. 😅 When I first reached the International Space Station, I had this strange hesitation: if I let go of something, won’t it just fall? On Earth, that’s exactly what happens. In space, though, my early instinct was to politely hand over items to crew-mates (one of them is quietly smirking in the background at my dismal lens changing skills 😅) instead of just releasing them. The funny part? They were just as cautious at first—so we ended up passing things around like an overly careful game of “hot potato.” Here’s the catch: nothing actually falls away in orbit. As you see in this video if I let go of the lens, it doesn’t drop—it hovers. Why? Because both the lens and I are falling at the same speed around Earth. No relative falling = no “down.” This idea goes all the way back to Isaac Newton’s legendary thought experiment: imagine standing on a tall mountain and throwing a ball. Toss it gently—it arcs down nearby. Throw harder—it travels farther before dropping. Throw it so fast that as it falls, Earth’s surface curves away beneath it? The rate of drop matches the curvature of the Earth. Congratulations—you’ve just put that ball in orbit. It’s falling forever, but it never hits the ground. That’s what orbit really is: perpetual free fall. Astronauts don’t feel weightless because gravity has disappeared—gravity up here is still about 90% as strong as at Earth’s surface. We feel weightless because we and everything around us are constantly falling together. Floating in space is really just falling—forever. 🌍✨ #shux #iss #space #shubhanshushukla #isro #axiom4 #newton #tiborkapu

Believe it or not- Everything you see in this frame is falling. 😅 When I first reached the International Space Station, I had this strange hesitation: if I let go of something, won’t it just fall? On Earth, that’s exactly what happens. In space, though, my early instinct was to politely hand over items to crew-mates (one of them is quietly smirking in the background at my dismal lens changing skills 😅) instead of just releasing them. The funny part? They were just as cautious at first—so we ended up passing things around like an overly careful game of “hot potato.” Here’s the catch: nothing actually falls away in orbit. As you see in this video if I let go of the lens, it doesn’t drop—it hovers. Why? Because both the lens and I are falling at the same speed around Earth. No relative falling = no “down.” This idea goes all the way back to Isaac Newton’s legendary thought experiment: imagine standing on a tall mountain and throwing a ball. Toss it gently—it arcs down nearby. Throw harder—it travels farther before dropping. Throw it so fast that as it falls, Earth’s surface curves away beneath it? The rate of drop matches the curvature of the Earth. Congratulations—you’ve just put that ball in orbit. It’s falling forever, but it never hits the ground. That’s what orbit really is: perpetual free fall. Astronauts don’t feel weightless because gravity has disappeared—gravity up here is still about 90% as strong as at Earth’s surface. We feel weightless because we and everything around us are constantly falling together. Floating in space is really just falling—forever. 🌍✨ #shux #iss #space #shubhanshushukla #isro #axiom4 #newton #tiborkapu

Shubhanshu Shukla

484,306 views • 10 months ago

.NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission has launched to orbit and is headed toward the International Space Station for a docking at 3:15 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 14.

.NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission has launched to orbit and is headed toward the International Space Station for a docking at 3:15 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 14.

International Space Station

126,167 views • 6 months ago

🚨EARTH’S ORBIT IS NOW A COSMIC JUNKYARD This was Earth 70 years ago. Here’s Earth today. In under a century, we’ve filled orbit with flying trash. More than 34,000 objects over 10 centimeters now circle the planet. Old satellites. Rocket parts. Even a glove an astronaut dropped in 1965. They’re all moving at 27,000 kilometers per hour. That’s fast enough to turn a speck of paint into a bullet. Space is getting crowded…. Source: European Space Agency

🚨EARTH’S ORBIT IS NOW A COSMIC JUNKYARD This was Earth 70 years ago. Here’s Earth today. In under a century, we’ve filled orbit with flying trash. More than 34,000 objects over 10 centimeters now circle the planet. Old satellites. Rocket parts. Even a glove an astronaut dropped in 1965. They’re all moving at 27,000 kilometers per hour. That’s fast enough to turn a speck of paint into a bullet. Space is getting crowded…. Source: European Space Agency

Mario Nawfal

327,074 views • 1 year ago

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to Earth as the second stage Merlin Vacuum engine ignited and propelled Dragon into its orbit to meet up with the International Space Station

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to Earth as the second stage Merlin Vacuum engine ignited and propelled Dragon into its orbit to meet up with the International Space Station

SpaceX

825,441 views • 3 years ago

Nothing like a little cosmic glow to brighten your orbit. ✨ This timelapse from the International International Space Station captures vibrant green aurora ribbons sweeping across Earth’s curve as station hardware drifts into view. Aboard this shared home in low Earth orbit, astronauts from around the world live and work side‑by‑side, a daily reminder that exploration is strongest when nations do it together. Auroras form when charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, creating waves of light that ripple across the sky. Science, perspective, and global partnership — all in one pass.

Nothing like a little cosmic glow to brighten your orbit. ✨ This timelapse from the International International Space Station captures vibrant green aurora ribbons sweeping across Earth’s curve as station hardware drifts into view. Aboard this shared home in low Earth orbit, astronauts from around the world live and work side‑by‑side, a daily reminder that exploration is strongest when nations do it together. Auroras form when charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, creating waves of light that ripple across the sky. Science, perspective, and global partnership — all in one pass.

NASA's Johnson Space Center

25,576 views • 6 months ago

📡 There is a place in Europe that talks to the International International Space Station every single day. 🛰️ Welcome to a day in the live of the Columbus Control Centre, our direct link to Europe’s space laboratory, where teams provide 24/7 support to keep science running in orbit.

📡 There is a place in Europe that talks to the International International Space Station every single day. 🛰️ Welcome to a day in the live of the Columbus Control Centre, our direct link to Europe’s space laboratory, where teams provide 24/7 support to keep science running in orbit.

Human Spaceflight

23,802 views • 9 months ago

This week, Intuitive Machines made history by landing on the Moon, the International Space Station crew discussed science and tech research in an Earth-to-space call, and #Crew8 is set to head to orbit. For more science, sign up at

This week, Intuitive Machines made history by landing on the Moon, the International Space Station crew discussed science and tech research in an Earth-to-space call, and #Crew8 is set to head to orbit. For more science, sign up at

NASA

653,330 views • 2 years ago

For 25 years, the International Space Station has impacted our view of Earth and who we are. It has served as a lesson in international cooperation and the importance of taking action to care for our planet. Happy birthday, International Space Station!

For 25 years, the International Space Station has impacted our view of Earth and who we are. It has served as a lesson in international cooperation and the importance of taking action to care for our planet. Happy birthday, International Space Station!

Vice President Kamala Harris Archived

334,106 views • 2 years ago

"It takes the international space station 90 minutes to orbit around the earth... It takes you 90 minutes to shoot 6 over through the first 6 holes." Sara Walsh just dropped everything all of the disgruntled golf spouses can relate to... ⛳🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️

"It takes the international space station 90 minutes to orbit around the earth... It takes you 90 minutes to shoot 6 over through the first 6 holes." Sara Walsh just dropped everything all of the disgruntled golf spouses can relate to... ⛳🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️

Good Morning Football

2,216,249 views • 3 years ago

Can space help save the planet? #SamanthaCristoforetti shares her insight from the International Space Station to advocate for Earth. This is our planet. This is our home. These are incredible people giving it a voice. #TeamPossible. 📹: European Space Agency

Can space help save the planet? #SamanthaCristoforetti shares her insight from the International Space Station to advocate for Earth. This is our planet. This is our home. These are incredible people giving it a voice. #TeamPossible. 📹: European Space Agency

WWF

30,712 views • 2 years ago

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS ZERO GRAVITY Astronauts aren’t floating because there’s no gravity. They’re floating because they’re falling... with style. The International Space Station experiences about 90% of Earth’s gravity, but it’s moving so fast, it’s constantly missing the ground. At 17,500 mph, it’s like a cannonball fired so hard it never lands. But make no mistake: if we cut the engines, it will fall. Source: modernday_eratosthenes

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS ZERO GRAVITY Astronauts aren’t floating because there’s no gravity. They’re floating because they’re falling... with style. The International Space Station experiences about 90% of Earth’s gravity, but it’s moving so fast, it’s constantly missing the ground. At 17,500 mph, it’s like a cannonball fired so hard it never lands. But make no mistake: if we cut the engines, it will fall. Source: modernday_eratosthenes

Mario Nawfal

32,261 views • 1 year ago