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Originally Posted by JimSomebody
This summer, a Russian cosmonaut is scheduled to use a gold-plated 6-iron to hit a gold-plated golf ball into space from the International Space Station. The ball is expected to travel 2.1 billion miles in Earth orbit, before burning up on re-entry after 2 to 4 years. That's if the ball doesn't get shanked into a solar panel or collide with something else during its epic flight.
The stunt was conceived of by a golf company, as a way to get publicity for its clubs. The company used an undisclosed amount of cash to induce the Russians to cooperate. It is unclear (to me, anyway) whether NASA can or will object.
More info at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...home-headlines
and
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...xp13_golf.html
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4765878.stm |
How will they ever know if it re-enters the atmosphere? The ball will burn up on reentry, assuming it ever makes it back. One of the things that has always amazed me about space is the speed at which objects travel. For example the space shuttle travels in excess of 23,000 miles per hour while in space. Think about that...you could make a complete trip around the earth in one hour....imagine the possibilities.