Space Race
Looks like the Russians were the first to put a gun in space:
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station apparently have access to a gun.
Russian Cosmonauts carry a gun on their Soyuz space capsule, which is attached to the space station.
Every spacecraft carries survival gear for crash landings, and the Russian Soyuz has a kit that includes the gun.
Sounds reasonable to me. I mean, you never know when you’ll encounter a moon monster or someone with space crazies. But cue pants-shitting:
Former NASA engineer Jim Oberg, who is an author and journalist, wrote about the gun on his Web site. He said the gun has no place in an environment where people are under such high stress.
“There have been cases of severe psychological strain on people in space, strain that they have taken out — that their shipmates worried about the ultimate actions,” Oberg said.
[hysteria about recent crazy astronaut who was stalking someone]
Oberg knows an astronaut bent on orbital manslaughter could simply throw any number of switches to do the job, but he said the crews would be safer if the gun was locked up or left on Earth.
Or, you know, a club. I wonder what kind of gun it is? Probably a handgun.
Any way, I’m upset. The US needs a gun in space. Or two. Some M4s. Dammit, NASA, put a weapon in space!
In comments, Lee says:
Actually, the Soviets had a 120mm cannon mounted to the exterior of their spy/observation station which was in service in the early seventies. I forget the name of the program, but our parallel program was called MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory), and was scrapped in 1969 in favor of unmanned spy satellites which were cheaper and backed by the CIA/NRO (National Reconnaissance Organization). Even the name of the NRO was only declassified in the early nineties.
Regardless, the Soviet gun was intended to shoot down enemy satellites which got to close. The gun was never fired with men on board, but it was fired remotely in order to test the station’s ability to
We really are behind.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:00 am
“Orbital Manslaughter “????
‘scuse me while I go change out my drawers; little messy.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Actually, the Soviets had a 120mm cannon mounted to the exterior of their spy/observation station which was in service in the early seventies. I forget the name of the program, but our parallel program was called MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory), and was scrapped in 1969 in favor of unmanned spy satellites which were cheaper and backed by the CIA/NRO (National Reconnaissance Organization). Even the name of the NRO was only declassified in the early nineties.
Regardless, the Soviet gun was intended to shoot down enemy satellites which got to close. The gun was never fired with men on board, but it was fired remotely in order to test the station’s ability to
February 15th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I watched Nova on PBSHD last night.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Now, that is cool.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:38 am
the Soyuz is designed to land on, well, land — unlike the Apollo capsules that splashed down in the ocean, the Russkies just aimed their equivalent at the empty steppes and used better parachutes or whatever for a soft landing.
if the Apollo missed its mark, the U.S. Navy got to make best speed for wherever the silly NASA boys came down this time, pick ’em up a little behind schedule; they had life rafts and suchlike, no biggie. if the Soyuz missed its mark, it could have come down in Siberia or wherever. the cosmonauts might’ve been on their own with the wolves and bears until the soviet air force managed to spot them. survival rifles could be really useful — i don’t know if they’ve ever actually been used for anything, but i sure wouldn’t take a return trip to “someplace in central Russia, pick you up just as soon as we can” without one.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:41 am
oh, and the rumors i’ve heard claimed that the Soyuz survival gun was some sort of combination shotgun/rifle down the lines of the M7. this official-looking web page shows it as being a very shortish-barrel thingy.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I spent some time last night looking this up after it was noted on Instapundit. The gun is a 3 barrel single shooter, with capability for flares or shotshells or 5.45mm (22LR?) respectively. The guns were used at least once to keep critters at bay after an off target landing (unclear if wolves or bears or Siberian snipes). They were put out of use in 2007 when it was determined the specialty ammo was no longer in good enough condition to use, and there were no replacements available. A “standard pistol” replaced the space gun, according to a news article.
Also, the stock consisted of the sheath to the machete (!!!) in the survival kit. Just included in case there was a need to chop some sugar cane, I guess….
February 15th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Isn’t a spacecraft oxygen heavy?
I mean, couldn’t it be hazardous/combustible to pop off a round in there? Not to mention decompression.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
It wasn’t a 120mm cannon, it was a 27mm cannon. They only test-fired it once.
I watched the same NOVA episode.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Rusty:
The atmosphere in a spacecraft is usually 100% O2, (aside from the CO2 and other gases emitted by the occupants) but it’s only at 5psi – the same partial-pressure it is here on Earth. The danger of fire is no worse than it is here.
The problem with a pure O2 atmosphere comes when you do it here at the normal atmospheric pressure of 15 PSI or so.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Fact is, the first documented firearm in space was placed in the Voshkod 2 spacecraft by Alexi Leonov:
“At the last moment I ordered most of
this food to be replaced with extra ammunition for my pistol. Much better to carry more
cartridges for self-defense, in case our spacecraft landed in an area with wild animals.”
From ‘Two sides of the moon’ by Leonov and astronaut dave Scott
February 15th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I like how everyone freaks out about a gun in one of the most hostile places on Ear— In the universe.
A few button presses would decompress or otherwise doom the entire crew and or station, and everyone’s freaking out about a gun causing hallways of the space station to run red with blood.
February 15th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
The Russians used 1 atmosphere of standard mix air … 21% O2 + 79% N2.
NASA uses 1/2 atmosphere of O2.
February 16th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I have a book somewhere with photos of all the kits used in MiGs, Soyuz, and the helicopters in the Afghan war. The helicopter kit had a Krinkoff and a Makarov, the other ones just included the Makarov.
Really, Russian tech is all about reuse of existing stuff that works. There isn’t a military-industrial complex around to push for cutting edge stuff. The Makarov works, so why bother cooking up something new?
I’ll try to take a photo of that book page and post it.
(Oh and +1 on existingthing’s comment)
February 16th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Never mind. I don’t need to find that book because there is a photo online of the NAZ-3 emergency-landing kit. The photo is clearly a Makarov.
Here
I have the exact same book. MiG Pilot Survival: Russian Aircrew Survival Equipment and Instruction by Alan R. Wise (1996 Schiffer Military History Books).
Then again, that page links here, which has a small photo of a TP-82, so perhaps my book is a bit out of date.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:51 am
two more links:
some blog with a fairly good photo
Google translated page
February 17th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Remember that NASA bitch that went psycho and drove 9 hours without peeing so she could terrorize her collegue? It seems to me that the Russian cosmonauts are justified in wanting a little home defense. Especially when NASA comes knocking for a visit.