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Golf in Space

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the where's-the-orbiting-ball-boy-target dept.

deeptrace writes "Tentatively scheduled for a spacewalk this summer, a Russian cosmonaut will take his trusty six iron and a special weightless-friendly tee and put a golf ball into orbit from outside the International Space Station. The golf ball has an embedded transmitter so that it can be tracked as it orbits. It is expected to orbit for 3 to 4 years before burning up on re-entry. The golf shot is the result of promotional fees paid to the Russian space agency by a Canadian golf club manufacturer."

3 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yardage? by HaydnH · · Score: 4, Informative

    "So I wonder how many yards it will travel in 3 or 4 years before it burns up? This is going to be the longest drive ever."

    From TFA:

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

    <sarcasm>I know it's a really hard conversion, especially for the techie crowd on /.</sarcasm> - that's 3696 billion yards.

    --
    Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. - Douglas Adams
  2. Re:That's a really big.... by cavtroop · · Score: 2, Informative
    Actually, thats only partially true. When golf first started, they had a guy called a 'fore-caddy' - his job was to walk out in front of you, to see where your ball landed, and guide you to it after you hit it.

    Calling out 'Fore!' let him know to keep an eye out for the ball.

    Nowadays, it just kinda means 'duck!' though :)

  3. In space nobody can here you play golf! by HaydnH · · Score: 2, Informative

    ok, from TFA:

    "The ball is expected to remain in orbit for three to four years."

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

    TFA doesn't say if that distance is based on 3 or 4 years, so I'll work out both and give a max & min average velocity:

    Min time in space = 3 years = 1,096 days (2*365 + 1*366: leap year in 2008) = 26,304 hours
    Max time in space = 4 years = 1,461 days (3*365 + 1*366: leap year in 2008) = 35,064 hours

    2.1 billion miles / 26,304 hours = 79,835.77 mph
    2.1 billion miles / 35,064 hours = 59,890.49 mph

    So the average speed will be between 59,890.49 mph & 79,835.77 mph!! (or 96,384.16 kph & 128,482.90 kph)

    Considering the speed of sound (at sea level) is 761mph it's just as well in space nobody can here you play golf!

    Haydn.

    --
    Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. - Douglas Adams