Tjurin was ecstatic after sending the ball into orbit around the Earth with a one-handed strike outside the International Space Station.
– That goes quite far. “It was an incredible blow,” said Tjurin after a rather special sporting event on Thursday evening Norwegian time.
Canadian golf club manufacturer Element 21 was behind the stunt, which was filmed with video cameras.
The footage will be included in an advertising film, and that way the Russian Space Agency will get some much-needed extra rubles in its coffers.
Safe?
The American space agency (NASA) does not have the opportunity to receive money from individuals, so it cannot carry out creative space missions of this kind.
But NASA has contributed to a thorough investigation before Tjurin’s golf swing, to ensure that the stunt did not cause any undesirable backfire effects.
If the ball hits a space station, a spacewalking astronaut, or another installation on its journey around the earth, it could pose a serious safety hazard.
48 rounds
Element 21 claims the golf ball will circle the globe over the next three and a half years, but this is rejected by NASA.
According to the space agency’s wiser calculations, it would take about three days for the ball to reach Earth’s atmosphere and burn up due to air friction.
During this time, the golf ball has moved at least 48 times around the world.
Published
11.23.2006, at 08.09
Updated
11.23.2006, at 11.47
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