 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
E21 Golf Company Space Shot Three Days Or Three Years In Orbit
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Nov 12, 2006 Element 21 Golf Company ("E21") reported new analysis of the trajectory for its golf ball which will be hit off the International Space Station, some 360 miles above the Earth, this coming Thanksgiving Day by cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin. New orbit trajectory calculations by Russian scientists contradict NASA's original projections that the golf ball will orbit the earth for approximately 3 days, and suggest a 3 1/2 year orbit is more likely, as the ball will descend by a few yards a day. Earlier this year similar sources speculated that the ball may collide with the International Space Station with a force of a 40,000 lbs truck moving at 100 miles per hour. The Company will be analyzing the data to reconcile the large discrepancy, and hopes to put the trajectory calculations up on its website for wider review. Traveling at 6 miles per second, the golf ball is expected to reach the billion mile mark before its orbit eventually decays, and the ball burns up in the atmosphere. "This will easily become the longest golf shot recorded on our solar system. It would be an even longer shot, but for the fact that it is being hit behind the space station, and therefore will have slightly lower initial velocity than the space station itself," noted E21 Golf Company spokesman, Executive Vice President and General Manager Bill Dey. "It's probably going to be the longest shot in the galaxy, but we didn't want to overstate things." Mikhail Tyurin is actually not an experienced golfer, but has been coached by such golf luminaries as LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Carol Mann and PGA Director of Instruction Rick Martino here on Earth, he also received a little more untraditional practice underwater in full space suit regalia, using only one hand, to simulate the limitations of the space environment. "On a more serious note, this will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the time astronaut Alan Shepard hit golf balls on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission, one of the most enduring images of space exploration. While Alan Shepard's original Moon Shot, only traveled 206 yards, it is highly unlikely that the Space Station shot will eclipse that moment in terms of drama and meaning, even though it completely overshadows it in length. At best, we can remind people of that wonderful moment 35 years ago." "We were drawn to the idea by the fact that our Patented Scandium Metal Alloy clubs are literally an outgrowth of rocket science. Scandium is in use on the space station, and first caught the scientific community's attention when it was employed on Russia's famed MiG jets." Applied to the Golf industry, E21's unique patented Scandium Metal Alloy offers unparalled performance in terms of consistency, feel and accuracy, and represents the first new advanced material to be employed in Golf equipment in decades. E21 holds the exclusive right to manufacture golf products using proprietary E21 Scandium Metal Alloys. Through a sophisticated multi-technology production path, E21 manufactures shafts, drivers, and other clubs with marked improvements in distance, accuracy and feel over competing products. In recent months a number of high profile golf professionals have switched to or began testing E21's Eagle One shafts. E21 Scandium products are 55% lighter and offers 25% strength to weight advantage over Titanium alloys, the current standard in the golf equipment industry. The advanced dynamics of E21 Alloys and the material economics offer a performance-enhanced alternative to manufacturing driver clubs with Titanium, the largest segment of the annual $5.5 billion U.S. golf equipment marketplace. E21 recently announced its "Golf Shot Around the World Mission" in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Alan B. Shepard Jr.'s historic Apollo 14 Mission. Just about every single record for distance in the golf industry will be shattered this fall when an astronaut will hit a golf ball into orbit around the earth -- using an E21 golf club. It is only natural that this event takes place on the International Space Station, considering that E21 Alloys are also used on the Space Station in high strength, fatigue resistant applications. Related Links E21 Golf All about Space Tourism and more at Space-Travel.Com
Swedish Delicacies On Discovery Menu
Stockholm (AFP) Nov 10, 2006With a Swedish astronaut on board, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery are to be treated to Scandinavian delicacies including dried moose meat, crispbread and gingerbread biscuits. Astronauts on the shuttle -- set for launch on December 7 -- can also look foward to yoghurts especially created by a Scandinavian company for consumption in space. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
