Floating in space is equivalent to free fall under gravity
According to the principle of equivalence in general relativity, an object in free fall is locally inertial, meaning the sensation and physical effects of floating in space are identical to being in free fall.
The claim is a fundamental tenet of general relativity known as the Einstein Equivalence Principle. The retrieved papers on parabolic flight and space-based cold atom experiments repeatedly confirm and rely on the principle that microgravity environments are equivalent to free fall.
Karmali F, Shelhamer M. The dynamics of parabolic flight: flight characteristics and passenger percepts.. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2008.04.009
Paper 3 explains the physics of achieving free fall via parabolic flight to simulate zero gravity.
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Barrett B, Antoni-Micollier L, Chichet L, Battelier B, Lévèque T, Landragin A, Bouyer P. Dual matter-wave inertial sensors in weightlessness.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13786
Paper 4 uses parabolic flight to test the equivalence principle in a free-falling vehicle.
Williams JR, Sackett CA, Ahlers H, Aveline DC, Boegel P, Botsi S, Charron E, Elliott ER, Gaaloul N, Giese E, Herr W, Kellogg JR, Kohel JM, Lay NE, Meister M, Müller G, Müller H, Oudrhiri K, Phillips L, Pichery A, Rasel EM, Roura A, Sbroscia M, Schleich WP, Schneider C, Schubert C, Sen B, Thompson RJ, Bigelow NP. Pathfinder experiments with atom interferometry in the Cold Atom Lab onboard the International Space Station.. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50585-6
Paper 8 describes using extended freefall in space aboard the International Space Station for quantum experiments.
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