Element 21 Launches First Golf-Dedicated Satellite Into Orbit

STATION NEWS

Artist's rendering of the golf task during Expedition 14's spacewalk on Nov. 22, 2006. Credit: NASA

by Staff Writers
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Nov 29, 2006
Element 21 Golf Company reports that on the eve of Thanksgiving, November 22nd, 2006 at approximately 7:57 pm EST, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin successfully hit a golf ball off of the orbiting International Space Station, 220 miles above the earth.

The first spacewalk for Expedition 14 began with a very unusual objective -- to launch a gold-plated golf ball off the ISS, sending it on a journey estimated to reach over 1 billion miles. This historic ball flight will be tracked on the Element 21 website, and will become the smallest orbiting purpose-built satellite to be tracked live from Earth. By the time of this release it will already have traveled about 1.7 million miles

Mikhail Tyurin did not embark on this groundbreaking mission without obstacles to overcome, including a problem with the cooling system in his space suit, which could most certainly be an issue when playing on a golf course with temperatures soaring over 300F. Once outside of the ISS, he along with Michael Lopez-Allegria carefully secured the specially designed tee and ball onto a designated platform, and prepared to set a world record in golf.

Battling the zero gravity conditions, Mikhail at times was upside down, but finally, with the assistance of Allegria, who held his feet in place, Mikhail made the most anticipated golf swing in history just as the sun rose over the eastern tip of Asia. Clutching the Element 21 Scandium 5-iron securely in one hand, Mikhail hit the E21 golf ball safely away from the ISS and into orbit. The ball is now traveling in a safe orbit below the ISS and other satellites Millions and millions of people watched the event take place live, via satellite feed provided by NASA to North America and by Eurovision to the entire world.

The 'space shot' was covered by the worldwide press in all mediums, including networks such as ABC, ESPN, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, CTV, Global, CBC, The Golf Channel, and Discovery in North America alone. Europe, Africa, and Australia televised segments of the golf shot in space, while all of South East Asia picked up the E21-sponsored Eurovision satellite feed, and provided hundreds of 1-3 minute reports across China through 4 state-owned television networks. Japan and South Korea televised the event through at least 6 top national networks and most local newspapers across the globe featured this incredible feat in golf history.

The space shot marked the opening of the ISS Golf and Leisure Club and the beginning of a new frontier in the globalization of the game of golf.

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