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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Next ISS Commander's Spacewalk Golf Shot Raises Concerns

ISS Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev rehearses a golf swing in preparation for a spacewalk shot by Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov, a fellow cosmonaut, as part of an agreement between Russia's Federal Space Agency and Canada's Element 21 golf company. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos/Element 21

CAPE CANAVERAL - A spacewalking Russian cosmonaut plans to hit a golf shot outside the International Space Station this summer as part of a publicity campaign that already has raised safety concerns.

Clad in a cumbersome spacesuit and anchored to a specially designed tee box, Pavel Vinogradov will hit a six-iron drive along side the station's Russian segment, taking great care not to hook the ball into the outpost.

Nataliya Hearn, president and chief executive officer of Element 21 Golf Co., said Russian Federal Space Agency officials initially were concerned that fragile solar panels jutting from the station's Russian crew quarters might be struck.

But an extensive Russian test program -- one involving veteran cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev -- subsequently showed the golf shot in space would be safe, Hearn said.

"If they were not confident that there would not be any safety issues with the structural components of the International Space Station, they would never have gone ahead and approved the full mission," she said.

NASA managers are aware of the plans and are reviewing the safety issues. The ball is expected to remain in orbit for three to four years.

"launch platform" was developed along with a spring-like space tee that would hold a golf ball in weightlessness yet release it when struck, Hearn said.

Engineers also had to determine the best place to mount the platform, and the best direction to drive the ball, to avoid hitting the station, Hearn said.

A gold-plated Element 21 six-iron and several golf balls were hauled to the station last September on a Russian space freighter. The golf shot tentatively is slated to take place during a spacewalk in late July.

The ball is expected to travel up to 2.1 billion miles before it drops back into the atmosphere and burns up.

"In essence, it's going to be the longest drive ever hit," company spokesman Joe Wieczorek said.

Full story here: www.space.com/missionlaunches/ft_060227_exp13_golf.html

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Boy, I hope he doesn't hook it right into a solar panel!... FORE!!!...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Golf or Science: What is NASA's Plan for the Space Station?

Earlier this month, Element 21 Golf Company, a Canadian golf club manufacturer, revealed publicly that it had an arrangement with Russia whereby a cosmonaut would perform an EVA and hit an instrumented golf ball off of the space station into its own orbit.

The golf gear was flown aboard a Progress cargo flight, which docked with the ISS in September 2005. Before he returned to Earth, Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev practiced the EVA golf swing inside the ISS - within the Service Module, part of the Russian Segment of the ISS.

This isn't the first time someone has sought to perform a golf stunt in space: Astronaut Alan Shepherd smacked a few golf balls off of the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. Such things - saying hello to Olympians, Super Bowl audiences, and NASCAR race attendees often serve to provide a link between our everyday lives and space. That's fine. But stunts have their place: when they don't deter from other tasks or risk injury to crew and hardware.

On the moon, with the exception of his crew's Lunar Module, Shepherd had nothing to hit with his golf ball projectiles. Aboard the ISS that is a different matter all together.

Although various sources claim that Russia has studied the issue and is seemingly unperturbed about the prospect of someone standing outside the ISS, swinging a long metal rod and deliberately striking an object such that it departs the ISS without hitting anything, NASA isn't so sure.

The golf gear has been in orbit for six months - and (one would hope) NASA knew about this stunt well before the launch. The fact that NASA is scrambling for answers only now - after the media came across the story - does not speak well for a clear idea (within NASA) of what America intends to use its current multi-billion space investment for. There is no thinking ahead - no "Strategic Communications" at work here. NASA just lurches, in reactionary mode from one PR headache to another.

Full story here: www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1093

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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Fore play in space leaves scientists unamused

A publicity stunt in which a golf ball will be whacked into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) has met a chilly reception from scientists, who say the scheme is risky and adds to the growing problem of space junk.


Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov is to take on the role of a celestial Tiger Woods under a deal between a Canadian golf club manufacturer and the cash-strapped Russian Space Agency (RSA).

In one of three space walks planned from the ISS over the next six months, Vinogradov will climb aboard a special platform and swing a special gold-plated six iron and seek to enter the record books for the longest-ever golf drive.

If all goes well -- and NASA, the prime agency in the building and running of the ISS, gives its approval -- his ball will orbit the Earth for about four years, travelling up to 3.36 billion kilometers (2.1 billion miles) before eventually burning up upon friction with the atmosphere.

"Every single record for distance in the golf industry will be shattered," says Element 21 Golf Co. [E21], the Toronto firm behind the scheme.

Fitted with a small radio transmitter, the ball can be tracked by golf fans on their home computer, says the company, which says it will give the club to charity.

Scientists, though, are less than gleeful.

In theory, it should be easy to hit the ball for a huge distance. After all, US astronaut Alan Shepard exulted that his two historic 1971 golf shots on the Moon, where gravity is a sixth of the Earth's, went "miles and miles and miles".

On the ISS, orbiting the Earth at a height of some 350 kilometers (218 miles), gravity is negligible and friction is zero, which should make it a golfer's dream.

But, as experienced golfers will tell you, driving that little white ball with the right force and in the right direction is a lot harder than it seems, even on a terrestrial course. The task is that much harder in a thick spacesuit, which leaves little room for a decent swing or flexing the joints.

The ball thus could quite easily be mis-hit and travel only a couple of metres (a few feet), or be hooked or sliced and sent in entirely the wrong direction.

As a result, it could accidentally land in the same orbital plane as the ISS: station and ball would both whizz around the planet on the same track at slightly different intervals in time.

And what that means is a remote risk of a collision, capable of damaging or even destroying the ISS, depending on the angle, velocity and site of impact.

"There's a lot of room in space, but orbital mechanics is a wonderful thing, and things tend to come back to where you launched them from," said Heiner Klinkrad, acting head of space debris at the European Space Agency (ESA).

"For the ISS, the most probable collision velocity in the worst-case scenario is somewhere at 10 to 11 kilometres (six to 6.5 miles) per second. "This thing is certainly larger than a centimetre (half an inch), which means it would certainly penetrate the shields of the space station if it hits at this speed."

Jean-Michel Contant, secretary general of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), a Paris-based forum on space research, suggested that Vinogradov's boots be strapped to the platform and that he make a few practice swings on a tethered ball before doing the big drive.

"If safety criteria are respected, this exercise could be useful as a teaching tool for children and students and be fun for the broad public," he said. "But it holds out no scientific benefits... and if the worst-case scenario happens, it won't be fun at all."

Another problem is that of space junk, especially from exploded satellites and boosters, which is becoming a worrying threat to satellites and travellers.

"The international recommendations are that you should not throw out unnecessary objects, and I wouldn't qualify a golf ball as a mission-related object," Klinkrad tartly observed.

The junk region of most concern is between 900 and 1,000 kilometers (560-620 miles) above Earth, where there are many navigation, communication and weather satellites. The golf ball would be far below this height.

Bill Ailor, a director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California, told the British weekly New Scientist there were about 300 operational satellites in this low-orbit zone.

These could in theory be at risk from the ball as it slowly spirals towards Earth, "but the chance of something like that happening is probably very low," said Ailor.

Full story here: www.physorg.com/news11391.html

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Golf in space event is postponed

The golf shot to be heard around the world has been indefinitely postponed by Russian space agency officials.

Thursday's 5 1/2-hour spacewalk by the Russian and U.S. occupants of the International Space Station will not include the previously announced attempt to hit a radio transmitting golf ball into Earth orbit, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The publicity stunt involved the payment of an undisclosed amount of money to Russia from a Canadian golf company. Russian officials did not explain the reason for the postponement.

In place of the golf shot, the astronauts will replace a malfunctioning camera on the U.S. side of the ISS.

NASA officials said the 65th ISS spacewalk will be unusual in that most of it will be controlled by Russia from that nation's control center near Moscow. The portion involving replacing the camera will be supervised by NASA mission control in Houston.

During the spacewalk, Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams will also install a new hydrogen vent valve, recover a thruster rocket residue collector and retrieve a contamination-monitoring device and a package of biology experiments, the Times said.

Source: www.physorg.com/news68294202.html

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I wonder if they took a club and ball on this mission...just in case.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Space station lined up for golf stunt

A Russian cosmonaut will whack a golf ball from the international space station in a publicity stunt on Thanksgiving Day, NASA officials said Tuesday.

Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin will show off his swing to promote a Canadian golf club manufacturer during a spacewalk on Nov. 23.

NASA safety officers have cleared the stunt, saying it poses no threat to the space station

"It's not like Tiger Woods taking a drive," said Kirk Shireman, deputy program manager of the international space station

Element 21 Golf Co. said it wants to publicize its new line of clubs and commemorate the 35th anniversary of the time astronaut

The stunt, arranged for an undisclosed sum, had originally been scheduled for a June spacewalk but was pushed back so other work could be done.

Tyurin and U.S. commander Miguel Lopez-Alegria will be launched to the space station in a Russian Soyuz vehicle in mid-September for a six-month stay. That trip will follow a few days after Atlantis departs the space station if the space shuttle

www.physorg.com/news75534581.html

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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

ISS Crew Getting Ready For Golf Day]

Houston TX (SPX) Nov 19, 2006
Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter continue to prepare for a spacewalk Wednesday, Nov. 22, out of the International Space Station's Russian Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. Lopez-Alegria, who will make his sixth spacewalk, and Tyurin, with three previous spacewalks to his credit, climbed into Russian Orlan spacesuits Friday to test all systems and communications gear.

This ended a week during which the spacewalkers also installed U.S. lights on their suit helmets, reviewed procedures for the extravehicular activity and performed leak checks on the Progress 22 craft currently docked to the Pirs airlock.

The six-hour spacewalk includes a commercial golf demonstration by Tyurin. Under a commercial agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and a Canadian golf company, Tyurin will hit a golf ball into space from a spring-mounted tee on the ladder next to the hatch of Pirs.

The ball will be tapped over the back of the station's Russian segment so that the ball travels away from the complex. NASA flight controllers have calculated that it will burn up in the atmosphere in about three days. The ball weighs much less than the standard 45 gram golf ball. The ball used for this demonstration weighs three grams, approximately the weight of three paper clips.

Source: www.spacedaily.com/reports/ISS_Crew_Getting_Ready_For_Golf_Day_999.html

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It will be an interesting video to watch.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Cosmonaut Hits Golf Ball Into Space

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin was late for his tee time in space Wednesday, but still managed to launch a super-lightweight golf ball into orbit - even if he shanked his shot.

Tyurin hit the golf ball 77 minutes behind schedule after delays to fix an overheating spacesuit and a stuck exterior hatch.

Using a gold-plated six-iron and an American astronaut in the role of caddy-and-safety-holder, Tyurin hit the drive from a spring-like tee outside the international space station, 220 miles over the northwest Pacific Ocean. The shot, which veered a little to the right, kicked off a problem-plagued slightly shortened spacewalk.

"I can see it as a little dot moving away from us," Tyurin said.

But just how far did that baby go?

Like in any golf story, it depends on who you talk to.

That drive went a billion miles - or will by the time it eventually comes down in a couple years - said Nataliya Hearn, the president of Element 21 Golf Company. The Toronto firm is paying the cash-starved Russian space agency an undisclosed amount for the golf stunt to promote its new golf club that includes a space-program-derived metal.

That's a huge exaggeration, according to NASA's lead spacewalk flight director, Holly Ridings. She said NASA's calculations are that golf balls would only stay up two to three days, which would put the drive closer to a mere million miles.

Just how far the golf ball travels won't be known until the ball burns up and enters Earth's atmosphere. The ball weighs 3 grams, only about 1/15th the weight of a normal golf ball. It weighs less to minimize any damage should it actually strike something.

Like many golfers, Tyurin spent several minutes trying to get comfortable addressing the ball, but unlike his Earth-bound counterparts, at times he was upside down. He was tethered to the space station and had astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria holding on to him.

With Moscow Mission Control deliberating on how to position the ball on the tee, Tyurin, a veteran spacewalker but rookie golfer who was already more than an hour late, was cranky about the advice.

Source: www.physorg.com/news83474047.html

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I'd like to see the video on this shot.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Element 21 Golf Company Golf Shot In Space Generates Unprecedented Retailer Interest

Toronto, Canada (SPX) Dec 07, 2006
Element 21 Golf Company and Frankfurt hasw announced its positive efforts to keep up with the heavy volume of retailer interest generated by its recent successful golf shot in space from the International Space Station (ISS). The extensive media coverage of the extraterrestrial golf shot made by Mikhail Tyurin this past Thanksgiving on television networks and the national press has generated a flurry of inquiries from retailers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as some international markets.

www.spacedaily.com/reports/Element_21_Golf_Company_Golf_Shot_In_Space_Generates_Unprecedented_Retailer_Interest_999.html

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I have yet to see an ad for the equipmement, but again...I'm not a golf enthusiast.