ISS Cosmonaut Tyurin To Play Golf In Outer Space

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by Staff Writers
Moscow, Russsia (RIA Novosti) Nov 17, 2006
A cosmonaut at the International Space Station (ISS) will play golf in outer space next week for the first time in history, a Russian space official said Thursday. The stunt, scheduled for the night of November 22-23, recalls the exploit of American astronaut Alan Shepard, who played golf on the Moon in 1971 during the Apollo 14 mission.

"During his space walk, Mikhail Tyurin will send a ball in the direction opposite to the ISS at a velocity of one meter per second [three feet per second]," said Igor Panarin, spokesman for the Russian Space Agency.

Tyurin's partner on the 14th international mission to the ISS, American Michael Lopez-Alegria, will photograph and videotape the moment.

The publicity stunt could have taken place during the previous ISS mission of Russian Pavel Vinogradov and American Jeff Williams, but NASA decided then to put it off for safety reasons.

"A ball sent into outer space could boomerang at the ISS, but at a far higher speed," an official at Russia's mission control center outside Moscow quoted U.S. experts as saying at the time. "The Americans have now changed their view."

Russian experts said the golf ball will pose no danger to the ISS or orbiting satellites as it will be space garbage. It will be put on a separate orbit, making any collision impossible, and will later burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: RIA Novosti

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