posted 12-15-2006 09:01 PM               

Today, the European Space Agency hosted a unique sporting event. Supported by the World Flying Disc Federation and sanctioned by the Swedish Frisbee Sport Federation, STS-116 mission specialist Christer Fuglesang broke the world record in the flying disc sporting discipline MTA, Maximum Time Aloft.

ESA believes that this is the first ever sanctioned sports event that has taken place in space.

The rules of MTA are simple: A player shall attempt to throw the disc in such a fashion that the disc remains airborne for as long as possible, before catching the disc himself. The timing of the flight of the throw shall be measured from the instant is initially touched in the catching attempt.

In this specific competition, Christer was free to waive the recommendation in the rules that an additional disc be available in the event a disc was lost or becomes unsuitable for use.

Fuglesang's record-setting attempt at MTA had an air time between his toss and catching the disc of 20 seconds.

posted 12-15-2006 11:06 PM               

And from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

A Swedish astronaut kept a frisbee in the air for 20 seconds yesterday, claiming the new world record for "Maximum Time Aloft".

Only thing is, it was floating in zero gravity, aboard the International Space Station. And the astronaut, Christer Fuglesang, kept it from bumping into anything - or going out of range of the camera in a feed to earth - by blowing on it.

If the record is accepted by the World Flying Disc Federation, Fuglesang would eclipse the longstanding 16.72-second flight launched over Chester County's Warwick Park by Don Cain of Haddonfield in 1984.

posted 12-18-2006 01:19 PM               

The rules of MTA are simple: A player shall attempt to throw the disc in such a fashion that the disc remains airborne for as long as possible, before catching the disc himself. The timing of the flight of the throw shall be measured from the instant is initially touched in the catching attempt.