Russian Astronaut Slaps Golf Ball Into Orbit

Astronaut Mikhail Tyurin smacked a golf ball into orbit off the International Space Station on Wednesday to raise money for the Russian space program during a spacewalk cut short by a balky spacesuit.

Tyurin, the station’s flight engineer, made a one-armed swing with a gold-plated six-iron to send the lightweight ball on a journey estimated to take it around the Earth at least 48 times before it burns up in the atmosphere.

He spent 16 minutes setting up the shot off a ladder on a Russian docking module with the help of U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and the guidance of Russian flight controllers.

“OK, there it goes,” said Tyurin, who has played golf twice in his life. “It went pretty far. It was an excellent shot.”

Canadian golf club maker Element 21 Golf Co. paid the cash-strapped Russian space agency an undisclosed amount of money for Tyurin’s golf exhibition, which was filmed for a future commercial.

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