Our friend says tha the primary reason astronauts in orbit feel weightless is that they are beyond the main pull of earths gravity. why do you agree or dissagree?

I agree on that. it's not like there is completely no force of gravity acting on them (I mean if they're still around the earth) , it's that it's so little that they can't even notice it. they'll float around and they seems like they have no weight. this is called weightlessness.