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Russian cosmonauts are hoping to hit a golf ball into Earth orbit from the International Space Station, setting a record for the longest drive ever made. If NASA gives the OK, the attempt will be made during one of three spacewalks planned for later this year, probably in September.
It’s all part of a commercial deal between the Russian space agency and Element 21 Golf Company of Canada. The shot would not be the first extra-terrestrial golf drive. That honor goes to Astronaut Alan Shepard who in 1971 ended a moonwalk by hitting two balls on the lunar surface for “miles and miles”.
The ball will be hit with a gold-plated club (a six iron) made of the same scandium alloy used to build the ISS. After being hit from a special platform aside the station the ball is expected to orbit the Earth for four years and travel millions of miles. Its progress will be tracked using global positioning transmitters as it gradually loses altitude through atmospheric drag.
The trick is to hit the ball squarely wearing a bulky spacesuit. Cosmonauts have already practiced for such a shot inside the station.
Some experts warn a mishap could cause catastrophic damage to the station. The ball needs to be hit out of the station’s orbital plane. If it should stay within that plane it might fall back onto the station or collide with it on a later orbit. The worst case scenario could be that the ball could impact at a speed of about 5.8 miles per second, the equivalent of a 6 ton truck hitting the station at 62 miles per hour. A more likely collision scenario is that the ball will strike the station at the same relative speed that it was struck, at most 30 meters per second.
The ISS orbits at about 400 kilometers above Earth and there are about 300 operational satellites now near the space station. The possibility does exist to strike one of these satellites, although the probability is quite low. Recently a space suit fitted with a radio transmitter was released from the station without effecting orbiting satellites. Low Earth orbit allows the atmosphere to clean things out of orbit in a relatively short time.
The larger question is, how far do we go in promoting stunts like this? While NASA can afford to run a program strictly on government funding, the Russians are strapped for cash and need to find outside sources of income in order to maintain a presence in space. The Russians are known for creating many deals like this including the sending tourists into space for a hefty fee. For it’s part, if the swing is approved, Element 21 plans to return the gold-plated club to Earth and contribute it to a charitable cause.
Further Reading:
Element 21 Movie including Alan Shepard Golf Shot
Center for Orbital & Reentry Debris Studies
International Space Station / NASA Web Site
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$10 says he slices it.
hmm considering those worst scenarios, is it really worth it?
Rafnex,
Oodles of cash from some no name golf company…or going bankrupt and becoming the laughing stock of the world…
What’s your pick?
Grump.
Yes, I know this post was a little raw, but it’s about cost/benefit.
Are mulligans allowed???
Some experts warn a mishap could cause catastrophic damage to the station. The ball needs to be hit out of the station’s orbital plane. If it should stay within that plane it might fall back onto the station or collide with it on a later orbit. The worst case scenario could be that the ball could impact at a speed of about 5.8 miles per second, the equivalent of a 6 ton truck hitting the station at 62 miles per hour.
As unlikely as it may be it would probably rank as the greatest act of stupidity ever. I mean destroying your own space station in a game of golf is impressive by any reckoning. Not only would the cosmonaut set a record for the longest golf drive ever but, as far as I’m aware, this would also be the first time anyone has ever killed themselves with their own golf ball. He’d be worthy of all our admiration and respect.
I would imagine, though I don’t for a minute pretend to have an understanding of the mathematics involved in orbital mechanics, that as long as the ball is hit in the same direction as the station’s orbit that the danger of a massively accelerated impact would be fairly small. The station must be strong enough to withstand micro-meteor impacts, and assuming the ball could catch up to the station it should just bounce off. Shouldn’t it?
I personally think the Russians are going to take out some important US spy satellite and call it an accident.
“We were just playing golf, comrads!”
Objects going faster in an orbital plane rise until they reach a higher orbital level, and objects going slower fall untill they reach a lower level.
However this golf-ball is going to receive a highly eleptical orbit as the swing will give it an angled up motion. I expect the thing will decay and de-orbit very very fast. Remember orbits arent weightless, their falling to the earth soo fast ou keep missing it.
The chances of the ball hitting anything of importance is so small it might as well not be a factor.
Consider a playing field a bit bigger than the surface of the Earth and then add the element of a third dimension. 300 satellites are not much for obstacles. You’d have a better chance hitting an Ivory Billed Woodpecker on Earth by blindly throwing a tennis ball from any random location.
The idea that it could whiz around and hit the space station is one of the most ridiculous I have ever heard. Professional golfers can only get a drive to end up within a few yards of their target. Now add the length of AN EARTH ORBIT as a variable. It’d have to be one heck of an accurate shot.
Be sure you check out the Element 21 movie linked after the story.
karphi said: “Professional golfers can only get a drive to end up within a few yards of their target. Now add the length of AN EARTH ORBIT as a variable. It’d have to be one heck of an accurate shot.”
Thats why he’d be the most impressive sportsman of all time if he did manage to hit his own space station.
Can anyone say “Fore!”. No, wait, sound doesn’t travel in a vacuum. Darn.
As for the stupidity of the idea, it’s almost as dumb as releasing millions of tiny Copper needles in orbit. No, wait, that’s already been done as part of Project West Ford:
http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~cdhall/Space/archives/000289.html
Dave
Stuart said: “As unlikely as it may be it would probably rank as the greatest act of stupidity ever. I mean destroying your own space station in a game of golf is impressive by any reckoning. Not only would the cosmonaut set a record for the longest golf drive ever but, as far as I’m aware, this would also be the first time anyone has ever killed themselves with their own golf ball. He’d be worthy of all our admiration and respect.”
In the event of this unfortunate action and consequence, it sounds like this cosmonaut will move to the head of the Darwin Award nominations…..
what would happen if you shot sand towards the earth at night, could you make cool fireworks/meteor showers? I would like to see that on the 4th of July. Can we do that, huh? Can we??? Can we????
Sand would burn up before you got to see it… it wouldn’t be impossible to create an artificial meteor shower though. But I think actual fireworks would be cheaper. :-D
The larger question is, how far do we go in promoting stunts like this?
This is coming closer to the Fight Club prediction: “When deep space exploration ramps up, it’ll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks.” Add in, “The Element 21 Orbital Platform.”
There seems to be quite a lot of talk lately about advertising on the moon. Imagine taking your children out into the yard one night and instead of looking up at the moon, looking up at a billboard for McDonald’s.
I thought it was something like this. If it goes left, it’s a hook. If it goes right, it’s a slice. If it goes straight, it’s a miracle. At least there are no sandtraps. Black holes would be a major bummer. I would think that in zero gravity, a putt-putt course would offer greater challenges.
Ahhh finally, the motherland has come through. Enough with all of the talk of mars, and finding life on other planets. All of that is useless. Back when I was in Russia I was on a nuclear submarine that could stay underwater for weeks. We would find rats and see who could toss the most into a bucket. Whoever did so would win. Of course there were other humorous side rules. Anyways, I got a little bit of topic. The point is that this is a great idea for all the cosmonauts who are in space with nothing to do. We all saw the movie armageddon. That cosmonaut was bored out of his mind. I say let him have his silly golf clubs and balls.
But…but…but why? How does this promote Elemnt 21? Besides the fact that people will hear about this, it’s not like anyone’s going to find this golf ball lying around in space and think “hmm…Element 21…I should totally buy their products.” More likely they’ll hear about this and think “that’s so ridiculous…”. And hopefully never buy the product. *mumbles something about hating golf*
A craptastic idea.
I genuinely wonder when the Space Environmental Movement will begin.
Could the golf ball survive re-entry into the atmosphere? If so, could it potentially land on a golf course, perhaps even going in a hole?
Considering the distance, Tiger Woods would have to eat his heart out.
Hole in 1 on a Par 3,657,293
Owned. DI article
happened, the ball hit and is expected to do hundreds of laps around the earth before re-enterring the atmosphere… saw it on daily planet, they are actually tracking it to make surr it doesnt hit anything
What’s the difference between a cosmonaut and an astronaut?
Is it just russian/american?
Yes, it’s just a national thing. By definition, a cosmonaut “sails the cosmos,” while an astronaut “sails the stars.” Greek word origins, I believe. There may be other terms used by other nations for their “sailors,” but I think only the U.S., Russia/USSR, and China have launched their own manned space craft, so folks from other nations are generally just glorified passengers.
I think it depends on whether you hit from the right or the left. Slice would go to the right for a righty, and the left for a lefty. A hook would be the opposite, of course.
Hmmm….interesting…..few more interesting things at http://allfaltugyan.com