New Golf in Space Story

Courtesy: BBC News


Cosmonaut prepares for golf stunt

Nasa says the golf shot does not threaten the ISS

A Russian cosmonaut is preparing to hit a golf ball during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS).

Flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin will knock a lightweight ball off a tee above the ISS's Russian docking port.

A Canadian golf club maker is paying the Russian space agency an undisclosed sum for Tyurin's time.

Nasa held up the stunt for months while safety experts checked possible flight paths to make sure the ball would not head back towards the space station.

"I play ice hockey and my understanding is that it is very similar," said Mr Tyurin, who has been taking many practice swings to brush up his technique ahead of the shot, which will be carried out during a spacewalk on Wednesday.

Responding to discussion over the safety, the flight engineer replied: "No question it's safe."

Nasa flight director Holly Ridings added: "Of course the crew is taking this very, very seriously so they've been doing a lot of practice."

"There is absolutely no re-contact issue with the space station."

Federal law bars the US space agency from getting any money for its involvement.

Mr Tyurin, who has been aboard the station since September, isn't expected to smack the ball, just tap it with the club. The ball itself weighs just 4.5g (0.16 ounce) instead of the standard-issue 45g (1.6 ounce) ball.

The Russian has to make the shot one-handed because his bulky spacesuit prevents him from bringing his hands together.

Station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, who is accompanying Tyurin during the spacewalk, will help set up a camera to film the shot for an upcoming television commercial.

Tyurin's drive is expected to be one for the record books, though not everyone agrees on how long the ball will fly. Nasa figures it will fall into Earth's atmosphere and be incinerated within three days.

Toronto-based club maker Element 21 Golf - which is paying for the orbital golf shot - is betting on three years.

During the Apollo 14 moon mission in 1971, US astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball with a six-iron from the lunar surface and boasted that it travelled "miles and miles" in the low-gravity atmosphere.