Cosmonaut to hit golf ball on space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Russian cosmonaut will whack a golf ball from the International Space Station in a publicity stunt on Thanksgiving Day, NASA officials said Tuesday.

Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin will show off his swing to promote a Canadian golf club manufacturer during a spacewalk on Nov. 23.

NASA safety officers have cleared the stunt, saying it poses no threat to the space station or the crew because the golf ball weighs only 3 grams and will return to Earth’s atmosphere in three days.

“It’s not like Tiger Woods taking a drive,” said Kirk Shireman, deputy program manager of the international space station.

Element 21 Golf Co. said it wants to publicize its new line of clubs and commemorate the 35th anniversary of astronaut Alan Shepard’s hitting golf balls on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission. The stunt, arranged for an undisclosed sum, had originally been scheduled for a June spacewalk but was pushed back so other work could be done.