Olympic torch taken on first spacewalk

[Buster's Uncle]

Olympic torch taken on first spacewalk
1 hour ago AP - Sports



MOSCOW (AP) -- An Olympic torch took a spacewalk for the first time Saturday, carefully held by two Russian cosmonauts outside the International Space Station as it orbited some 260 miles above Earth.

Video streamed by NASA showed Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazanskiy carrying the unlit torch of the Sochi games, which bobbed weightlessly at the end of a tether in a darkness dotted by stars.

The two gingerly maneuvered to take photos of the torch against the background of the planet, the orb's edge glowing with sunrise.

They then returned it to the space station before continuing with other tasks on a spacewalk that was to last about six hours, including attaching a footrest and a camera platform to the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

The torch was launched into space from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday morning. It will return to Earth with a three-man crew on Monday.

The torch will not burn aboard the space outpost because lighting it would consume precious oxygen and pose a threat to the crew.

The Olympic torch was taken aboard the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis in 1996 for the Atlanta Summer Olympics, but this is the first it time it has been taken outside a spacecraft.

The Sochi Olympic flame started its relay on Oct. 7, four months ahead of the Winter Games, and it is to cover some 65,000 kilometers (39,000 miles). Most of the time the flame will be safely encased in a lantern.

On Saturday, the flame was somewhere nearly as cold and remote as the torch's temporary residence in outer space - the Siberian city of Yakutsk.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympic-torch-taken-first-spacewalk-174026786--oly.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Russians take Olympic torch on historic spacewalk
4 hours ago Relaxnews



Russians take Olympic torch on historic spacewalk



Two cosmonauts took the Olympic torch -- unlit -- for a spacewalk Saturday in a historic showcasing of Russia's Sochi Winter Olympic Games in three months' time.

Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kotov ventured outside the International Space Station (ISS) with the torch held ceremonially in his gloved hand and his every move beamed live across the nation by Russian state TV.

The feather-shaped red-and-grey symbol of peace and friendship was tethered safely to his bulky spacesuit to make sure it did not spin away in orbit 260 miles (420 kilometres) above the Earth.

The moment was captured on high-tech video and photo equipment operated by fellow cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky -- out on his very first spacewalk.

"Beautiful," Ryazansky exclaimed as Kotov proudly waved the torch in front of the camera while floating almost directly above Australia.

"It is hard to believe that this is happening," a state television commentator exclaimed. "Something this beautiful has never happened before."

The pair then spent about an hour taking turns holding the torch and posing for dramatic shots with the Earth serving as the backdrop.

But their conversation mainly consisted of complicated space jargon and detailed exchanges with the Russian commander on board the ISS.

Kotov had warned before the spacewalk that he did not intend to make any "grand pronouncement" similar to the one Neil Armstrong delivered when he took his first step on the Moon in 1969.

Saturday's mission marked the very first time the Olympic symbol entered open space -- a no-expense-spared triumph for Russia as it showed off its prowess in both science and sport.

Russia has gone to unparallelled lengths to promote its first Olympic event since the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow were boycotted by a bloc of Western nations because of the Soviet Union's invasion at the time of Afghanistan.

Moscow has already sent the torch to the North Pole aboard a nuclear-powered icebreaker. It will soon visit the bottom of Baikal -- the world's deepest freshwater lake.

All are extravagant reminders from President Vladimir Putin's government about the breadth of both Russia's ambitions and its natural wealth.

But little compares to the pride Russia has taken in shooting the torch up to the ISS aboard the same type of rocket the Soviets used for launching pioneering spaceman Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

"Taking the Olympic torch to space -- only we are capable of that," a state television presenter boasted on Thursday during a news show about the upcoming February 7-23 Sochi Games.

The bold claim is not actually true. Torches also left the planet aboard US space shuttle voyages ahead of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta and the 2000 event in Sydney.

But never has a torch been taken out for a spacewalk until Saturday.

'Not a bad idea'

Space officials stressed that safety precautions meant the torch remained unlit while inside the ISS at all times. Flames outside the station are impossible because of the lack of oxygen.

"We do not intend to set fire to anything, including the Olympic torch," cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin joked on Friday during a video hookup from the space station.

Russia had nevertheless at one point contemplated sending the actual flame up to the station by encasing it in a special lantern.

Vitaly Davydov of the Roscosmos space agency set the debate rolling by remarking in 2011 that such a space shot "is not a bad idea (that) is theoretically possible".

More cautious senior Russian officials eventually decided that lighting a fire aboard a Soyuz rocket filled with tonnes of explosive fuel was not a wise choice.

Internationally agreed rules governing the ISS itself forbid flames from being lit on the orbiting lab because they would burn up the limited supplies of oxygen available to the crew.

But the symbolism of the spacewalk with the unlit torch still received extra global promotion by being aired live on screens at New York's Times Square.


http://news.yahoo.com/russians-olympic-torch-historic-spacewalk-161617980.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Spacewalking Cosmonauts 'Run' Historic Olympic Torch Relay in Space
SPACE.com
By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor  5 hours ago



Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Expedition 38 Soyuz commander, holds the Olympic torch



Olympic history unfolded outside the International Space Station Saturday morning (Nov. 9) as two Russian cosmonauts carried an unlit Olympic torch on a symbolic spacewalk relay for the 2014 Games.

Emerging from the orbital outpost at 9:34 a.m. EST (1434 GMT) through a hatch on the Pirs docking module, Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy with Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos began the planned six-hour excursion by posing with the torch for an unprecedented photo opp.

"We will take a picture of it with the space station in the background, with the Earth in the background, and we will try to make sure that we see Russia, and maybe Sochi where the Olympic Games will take place," Kotov said of the torch relay in a NASA interview. "I think these will be very interesting videos and pictures that will be used to promote the Olympic Games."

The aluminum red and silver torch, which for the exception of a tether is identical to the 14,000 torches being used in the traditional terrestrial relay — now a month underway in Russia, arrived at the space station on Thursday (Nov. 7) with three new crew members for the orbital laboratory. As the spacewalking cosmonauts passed the torch above the Earth, the Olympic flame was being run through Yakutsk, Russia, one of the oldest cities in Siberia.

"We will be part of this whole chain, part of this wonderful relay of the Olympic torch," Ryazanskiy said.

"The most interesting part here is that our relatives, our families, will be participating in this relay as well. My wife and Oleg Kotov's daughter on Earth will be participating in the relay," the 38-year-old Expedition 37/38 flight engineer said.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic torch is the third to reach space. Previous replica and unlit torches were launched in 1996 and 2000 on NASA space shuttles, but they stayed inside for the full time they were on orbit.

You can watch the Olympic torch spacewalk live here, courtesy of NASA.



Spacewalker Oleg Kotov is seen with the Olympic torch outside the International Space Station, Nov. 9, 2013.


Taking the torch

Ryazanskiy was first to exit the space station, putting him in position to photograph Kotov as he came floating out of the hatchway with the torch.

From there, the spacewalkers were to take turns handing off the torch as numerous cameras captured the scene. In addition to the exterior mounted cameras on the International Space Station, crew members inside the outpost's multi-windowed Cupola were also set to photograph and film the two cosmonauts.

Kotov and Ryazanskiy will also use commercial GoPro cameras to capture their own view of the torch.

"We are going to move along the outside of the Russian segment and will be symbolically handing over the torchfrom one crew member to the other," Kotov told reporters on Friday. "We will repeat that a couple or three times to make sure we will have a pretty picture, to make sure the whole world and our country will see the torch in a nice way with the background of the Earth and black space."

After about an hour, with the relay recorded for posterity, the spacewalkers were to stow the torch in the airlock and continue on with their maintenance work.

"[The torch relay] is not the only task that we are going to have, this will be just one stage of the whole session of activities outside the station this time," Kotov explained.

Kotov and Ryazanskiy will prepare a pointing platform on the hull of the space station's Zvezda service module for installation of a high resolution camera system, relocate a foot restraint for use on future spacewalks and deactivate an experiment package.


What goes up

With its historic outing completed, the torch will be brought back inside the space station and packed aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft for return to Earth on Sunday with the outgoing Expedition 37 crewmembers. Roscomos cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) are departing for home after five-and-a-half months in space.

"Oleg and Sergey will give the torch to us. This will be the third space vehicle that the torch will be traveling on and we will hand it over later to the Olympic committee," Yurchikhin said.

The torch will then make its way to Sochi, Russia, where on Feb. 7, 2014 it will be used in the opening ceremonies beginning the 22nd Winter Games.

"Today we are making Olympic history by taking the torch on a spacewalk for the first time," Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, said. "This feat underlines incredible human capabilities and will symbolize the aspirations of all athletes from around the world to reach new heights in sports."


http://news.yahoo.com/spacewalking-cosmonauts-run-historic-olympic-torch-relay-space-151256562.html

...

Does anyone think this is interesting?

[Buster's Uncle]

Sending Olympic Torch to Space, Russia Flaunts Inspiration Superiority (Op-Ed)
SPACE.com
By Leroy Chiao, former commander, International Space Station  5 hours ago



Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin holds the Olympic torch for the 2014 Olympic Games during a press conference



Leroy Chiao is a former NASA astronaut and commander of the International Space Station. During his 15-year flying career, he performed six spacewalks. Chiao is the special adviser for human spaceflight to the Space Foundation, and holds appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University. Chiao contributed this Op-Ed to SPACE.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed and Insights.

Soyuz 11M roared into space just a few days ago, carrying the latest crew to the International Space Station. Normally, such an event doesn't rate mentions in the mainstream news media — but, this one got a few.

Why? The crew carried the Olympic torch with them, and the rocket was painted in a theme to commemorate the upcoming Sochi games. During the mission, two cosmonauts will take the torch out on a spacewalk, to further generate publicity for the games, and for human spaceflight.

The Russians have always been more advanced than we Americans in this area. They've had advertising placards in their mission control center — with many Western clients, by the way — and during space station Mir, they actually filmed a Pepsi commercial by having spacewalking cosmonauts inflate a large replica Pepsi can in space (the video turned out to be too grainy for use). In years past, Pizza Hut bought advertising space on the side of one of their rockets, as did a motion picture company (for an Arnold Schwarzenegger film). Isn't it interesting, that we are talking about American companies here, yet we Americans are not the ones soliciting the advertising?

Over the last month, the blockbuster films "Gravity " and "Ender's Game " have generated more popular interest in spaceflight than actual missions currently flying. There are many reasons for this, and Americans should not lament those reasons, but understand and embrace them, and create strategies to exploit them.

Strictly speaking, as part of the federal government, NASA is not allowed to advertise, but one wonders if the envelope could be stretched a bit. After all, the U.S. Military and the U.S. Postal Service are allowed to advertise. Surely, there would be some leeway and interpretation in the laws that could be tested?

But, NASA and entities that support space exploration could encourage commercial companies and others to advertise on space vehicles and missions. Could the up and coming commercial providers in the U.S. advertise on their rockets and spacecraft?

It is time to really think about ways to leverage the public's interest in space pop-culture, into support for actual space exploration. Who's got some good ideas?


http://news.yahoo.com/sending-olympic-torch-space-russia-flaunts-inspiration-superiority-160257887.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Russians take Olympic torch on historic spacewalk
AFP
By Dmitry Zaks 5 hours ago



Olympic torch lands on International Space Station



Moscow (AFP) - Two cosmonauts took the Olympic torch -- unlit -- for a spacewalk Saturday in a historic showcasing of Russia's Sochi Winter Olympic Games in three months' time.

Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kotov ventured outside the International Space Station (ISS) with the torch held ceremonially in his gloved hand and his every move beamed live across the nation by Russian state TV.

The feather-shaped red-and-grey symbol of peace and friendship was tethered safely to his bulky spacesuit to make sure it did not spin away in orbit 260 miles (420 kilometres) above the Earth.

The moment was captured on high-tech video and photo equipment operated by fellow cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky -- out on his very first spacewalk.

"Beautiful," Ryazansky exclaimed as Kotov proudly waved the torch in front of the camera while floating almost directly above Australia.

"It is hard to believe that this is happening," a state television commentator exclaimed. "Something this beautiful has never happened before."



An image obtained from NASA TV shows cosmonaut Oleg Kotov holding the Olympic torch


The pair then spent about an hour taking turns holding the torch and posing for dramatic shots with the Earth serving as the backdrop.

But their conversation mainly consisted of complicated space jargon and detailed exchanges with the Russian commander on board the ISS.

Kotov had warned before the spacewalk that he did not intend to make any "grand pronouncement" similar to the one Neil Armstrong delivered when he took his first step on the Moon in 1969.

Saturday's mission marked the very first time the Olympic symbol entered open space -- a no-expense-spared triumph for Russia as it showed off its prowess in both science and sport.

Russia has gone to unparallelled lengths to promote its first Olympic event since the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow were boycotted by a bloc of Western nations because of the Soviet Union's invasion at the time of Afghanistan.



People in Tokyo watch a live broadcast showing the launch of Russia's Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft


Moscow has already sent the torch to the North Pole aboard a nuclear-powered icebreaker. It will soon visit the bottom of Baikal -- the world's deepest freshwater lake.

All are extravagant reminders from President Vladimir Putin's government about the breadth of both Russia's ambitions and its natural wealth.

But little compares to the pride Russia has taken in shooting the torch up to the ISS aboard the same type of rocket the Soviets used for launching pioneering spaceman Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

"Taking the Olympic torch to space -- only we are capable of that," a state television presenter boasted on Thursday during a news show about the upcoming February 7-23 Sochi Games.

The bold claim is not actually true. Torches also left the planet aboard US space shuttle voyages ahead of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta and the 2000 event in Sydney.

But never has a torch been taken out for a spacewalk until Saturday.

Space officials stressed that safety precautions meant the torch remained unlit while inside the ISS at all times. Flames outside the station are impossible because of the lack of oxygen.

"We do not intend to set fire to anything, including the Olympic torch," cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin joked on Friday during a video hookup from the space station.

Russia had nevertheless at one point contemplated sending the actual flame up to the station by encasing it in a special lantern.

Vitaly Davydov of the Roscosmos space agency set the debate rolling by remarking in 2011 that such a space shot "is not a bad idea (that) is theoretically possible".

More cautious senior Russian officials eventually decided that lighting a fire aboard a Soyuz rocket filled with tonnes of explosive fuel was not a wise choice.

Internationally agreed rules governing the ISS itself forbid flames from being lit on the orbiting lab because they would burn up the limited supplies of oxygen available to the crew.

But the symbolism of the spacewalk with the unlit torch still received extra global promotion by being aired live on screens at New York's Times Square.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/russians-olympic-torch-historic-spacewalk-023508203--oly.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Cosmonauts take Sochi Olympic torch on spacewalk
Reuters
By Alissa de Carbonnel 4 hours ago
 





BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A pair of Russian cosmonauts took an Olympic torch into open space for the first time on Saturday as part of the torch relay of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

Gripping the unlit silver-and-red torch in the gloved fist of his spacesuit, Oleg Kotov crawled through a hatch and stepped outside the International Space Station some 200 miles above Earth, where he waved it triumphantly.

He handed the torch to Sergei Ryazansky and they took turns posing with it in a zero-gravity film session with the station, the blackness of outer space and the blue-and-white orb of Earth as backdrops.

"That's a beautiful view," Ryazansky said.

The footage, most taken from cameras mounted on the cosmonauts' spacesuit helmets, was broadcast live on the U.S. space agency NASA's internet channel and Russian state television.



Russian astronaut Oleg Kotov holds an Olympic torch as he prepares to take it on a spacewalk outside


A three-man Russian, American and Japanese crew carried the torch up on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan on Thursday, bringing the number of crew aboard the station to nine.

The spacewalk is a showcase for the Sochi Games in February, the first Olympics that Russia will host since the Soviet era and a crucial event for President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for nearly 14 years.

Inspired by the Firebird of Russian folklore, the meter-long torch weighs almost 2 kg (4.4 lbs) on Earth. Special tethers were attached to ensure it could not float away in the weightlessness of outer space.

The two cosmonauts occasionally let go of the torch, which spent more than an hour in open space before Ryazansky returned it to the station and they turned to other tasks.

The torch will be returned to Earth on Monday by Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, U.S. astronaut Karen Nyberg and Italian Luca Parmitano, of the European Space Agency, and handed off to Sochi 2014 officials.



Russian astronaut Oleg Kotov hands an Olympic torch to Russian astronaut Sergei Ryazansky (L) outside the International Space Station


It will be used to light the Olympic flame when the Games start on February 7.

Russia is conducting the longest torch relay before any Winter Olympics, a 65,000-km (40,000-mile) trek that has taken the flame to the North Pole on an atomic-powered icebreaker and will bring it to Europe's highest peak, Mount Elbrus.

"This is a way to show the world what Russia is made of," Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister in charge of planning the Olympics, said after the Baikonur launch. He said it would display Russia's "might" and its economic achievements.

Putin is taking a risk by staging the Games in Sochi, a beach and mountain resort where nearly all the venues had to be built from scratch.

He has faced criticism and calls to boycott the Games over a law he signed in June banning homosexual "propaganda" among minors, which critics say amounts to a ban on gay-rights rallies.

On the ground, the torch relay continued on Saturday in Siberia's vast Yakutia region. The flame has gone out dozens of times, prompting both humor and criticism from Russians.

Olympic torches have been taken aboard spacecraft before, for the 1996 and 2000 Games, but never into open space.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/cosmonauts-sochi-olympic-torch-spacewalk-154719281--sector.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Olympic torch goes on spacewalk
By NBC Sports 2 hours ago NBC on Yahoo Sports
 


An Olympic torch went on a spacewalk for the first time on Saturday morning. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy took the torch outside the International Space Station just before 10 a.m. ET, about 261 miles above Earth. “OK, shall we start taking this symbol of partnership and friendship and good competition into space?” one of the cosmonauts said, according to a NASA stream translator.

They handed off the red and silver aluminum torch, which was tethered, from one to the other at 10:14. A commentator on the NASA stream said the International Space Station was orbiting above the northern U.S. and southern Canada and made it to space above Africa by the time the torch spacewalk finished around 10:30.

The torch portion was part of a spacewalk that began at 9:34 a.m. and was scheduled to last about six hours. The torch was unlit for safety reasons. An Olympic torch has reportedly gone to space before — prior to the 1996 and 2000 Olympics — but this marked its first spacewalk.

The torch is expected to return to Earth at 9:50 p.m. ET on Sunday, landing in Kazakhstan. The crew that will stay at the International Space Station for six months will be able to watch the Olympics (on a delay), according to Interfax.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nbc-yahoo-sports/olympic-torch-goes-spacewalk-192419822--ocid.yahoo.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Olympics-Cosmonauts take Sochi Olympic torch on spacewalk
By Alissa de Carbonnel  Reuters
4 hours ago

 
* Olympic torch, unlit, in vacuum of space for the first time

* Russian cosmonauts pose with torch

* Torch to light flame at start of Sochi Games in February (Updates with cosmonauts returning torch to station, more details)


BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A pair of Russian cosmonauts took an Olympic torch into open space for the first time on Saturday as part of the torch relay of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

Gripping the unlit silver-and-red torch in the gloved fist of his spacesuit, Oleg Kotov crawled through a hatch and stepped outside the International Space Station some 200 miles (320 km) above Earth, where he waved it triumphantly.

He handed the torch to Sergei Ryazansky and they took turns posing with it in a zero-gravity film session with the station, the blackness of outer space and the blue-and-white orb of Earth as backdrops.

"That's a beautiful view," Ryazansky said.

The footage, most taken from cameras mounted on the cosmonauts' spacesuit helmets, was broadcast live on the U.S. space agency NASA's internet channel and Russian state television.

A three-man Russian, American and Japanese crew carried the torch up on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan on Thursday, bringing the number of crew aboard the station to nine.

The spacewalk is a showcase for the Sochi Games in February, the first Olympics that Russia will host since the Soviet era and a crucial event for President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for nearly 14 years.

Inspired by the Firebird of Russian folklore, the metre-long torch weighs almost 2 kg (4.4 lbs) on Earth. Special tethers were attached to ensure it could not float away in the weightlessness of outer space.

The two cosmonauts occasionally let go of the torch, which spent more than an hour in open space before Ryazansky returned it to the station and they turned to other tasks.

The torch will be returned to Earth on Monday by Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, U.S. astronaut Karen Nyberg and Italian Luca Parmitano, of the European Space Agency, and handed off to Sochi 2014 officials.

It will be used to light the Olympic flame when the Games start on Feb. 7.

Russia is conducting the longest torch relay before any Winter Olympics, a 65,000-km (40,000-mile) trek that has taken the flame to the North Pole on an atomic-powered icebreaker and will bring it to Europe's highest peak, Mount Elbrus.

"This is a way to show the world what Russia is made of," Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister in charge of planning the Olympics, said after the Baikonur launch. He said it would display Russia's "might" and its economic achievements.

Putin is taking a risk by staging the Games in Sochi, a beach and mountain resort where nearly all the venues had to be built from scratch.

He has faced criticism and calls to boycott the Games over a law he signed in June banning homosexual "propaganda" among minors, which critics say amounts to a ban on gay-rights rallies.

On the ground, the torch relay continued on Saturday in Siberia's vast Yakutia region. The flame has gone out dozens of times, prompting both humour and criticism from Russians.

Olympic torches have been taken aboard spacecraft before, for the 1996 and 2000 Games, but never into open space.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics-cosmonauts-sochi-olympic-torch-spacewalk-175751935--spt.html