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TIL Soviet cosmonauts carried a shotgun on space missions (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted 1 year ago by randomaccount43543@lemmy.world to c/til@lemmy.world
43 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It was purportedly (and probably in actuality) intended as a survival aid to be used after landings and before recovery in the Siberian wilderness, although allegedly was intended as a defensive weapon against in-space attacks by the US space program.

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[-] WhoRoger@lemmy.world 73 points 1 year ago

The attack in space angle was probably just to convince some manager.

The survival in Siberia is completely valid. US retrieves their astronauts in the ocean, but Soviet Russia didn't/doesn't have such a worldwide navy, so Siberia it is. It could take days for the cosmonauts to be recovered, so it was expected they might need to defend themselves against wildlife or even hunt.

[-] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 13 points 1 year ago

I think every astronaut that embarked in the Soyuz spacecraft had to go through a wilderness survival training.

I know the french astronaut Thomas Pesquet had to survive a week in Siberian first in winter before embarking on the Soyuz.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

Because space is haunted. And buckshot's superior spread helps ensure a hit while spinning around in zero-g. Solid slugs would go straight through the soyuz walls, duh.

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago

[-] droans@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

It's the sequel we've always wanted to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

As long as it's about Buzz Aldrin and they're Nazi ghosts.

[-] janAkali@lemmy.one 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

allegedly was intended as a defensive weapon against in-space attacks by the US space program.

??? If it was for in-space attacks, wouldn't it be more logical to mount a gun outside of ship ๐Ÿ˜†?

It was intended as a survival aid for emergency landings. It's not a shotgun, but a three barrel pistol (but it can shoot both normal rounds and shells). Another interesting detail - it's buttstock is a folding machete.

TP-87 was invented by request of A. Leonov after emergency landing of 'Voshod-2' where cosmonauts Leonov and Belyaev had to survive 3 days in wild taiga forest for a rescue team to retrieve them.

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Love that story. Reminds me of Factorio, or Satisfactory or something.

[-] Hadriscus@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Satisfactorio ?

[-] sygnius@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

Would this actually work effectively in space?

[-] WhoRoger@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Why wouldn't it?

Ed: the only thing that might not work is gunpowder in vacuum due to lack of oxygen, but gunpowder has oxidiser included, so yes it would.

[-] janus2 16 points 1 year ago

I had to look up whether gunpowder requires oxygen to burn (it doesn't)

[-] Sabre363@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 year ago

Gunpowder does actually require oxygen to burn, it just happens to bring its own oxygen with it.

[-] janus2 1 points 1 year ago

That's what I assumed, but why ass-ume when I live in the information age ๐Ÿ˜

[-] expatriado@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

if it needed oxygen from the air it would have to breathe, the explosion happens inside the barrel before it mixes with the atmosphere

[-] janus2 1 points 1 year ago

Ah! This is true and more precise

[-] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Heat dissipation is an issue since there's no air around to cool the barrel, although for this three shot weapon (two shotgun one rifle) it wouldn't be a problem. This gun is mostly to fend off bears when you land in Siberia.

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago

You are half right. The gun definitely is for bears, but, and get this, space bears

[-] Blademax@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

Normal or cocaine....space...bears?

[-] AEsheron@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Miniature giant space bears.

[-] bitsplease@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Recoil would be a removed though lol

[-] ElZoido@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Well, considering that many early spacecraft and space stations were running oxygen rich atmospheres, it would probably mean the end of anyone involved in a rather spectacular fireball.

[-] kbity@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

I'd kind of hope everyone would know better than that after the disastrous Apollo I fire.

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 8 points 1 year ago

Yes, I guess? But firing a gun inside a spacecraft would be a bad idea... and also firing it while spacewalking would be a bad idea unless you were very sure that you were very well braced & tethered.

[-] radix@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Or the gun is just an emergency propulsion system in case you lose your tether....

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 points 1 year ago

Crazy enough plan to be Russian.

[-] AlwaysNowNeverNotMe@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

You could load it with very small, light, or soft pellets, they don't need to be very damaging to make a hole in a suit which would be near certainly fatal.

[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 11 points 1 year ago

Long-time space journalist Jim Oberg called it โ€œa deluxe all-in-one weapon with three barrels and a folding stock that doubles as a shovel and contains a swing-out machete.โ€

[-] blackluster117@possumpat.io 5 points 1 year ago

You'd think it was invented by the Swiss.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

It could also be a handy final solution if you got trapped in space with no chance of rescue or return.

[-] Red_October@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

They say it was because their landing in the wilds of Siberia may require defense against wildlife. This is not true. The truth is that they have seen what resides in space, and would not venture into it's laid unarmed.

[-] i_am_a_cardboard_box@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

So... They watched Aliens?

[-] Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago

Possibly also for suicide if you get into a situation where you would slowly suffer to death?

[-] TheObserver@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

I'd rather take hypoxia atleast then it not technically suicide.

[-] riodoro1@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

A gunshot wound to the head is also not suicide.

If however both the gunshot wound and hypoxia are self inflicted then it is suicide, regardless if you pull the trigger or open a valve.

[-] OptimusPhillip@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I can't seem to read the article, so forgive me if they answer this question, but how would a gun work in space? Most firearms I'm familiar with use oxidation reactions to propel ammunition. Were the shells filled with self-oxidizing propellant, or did they just use a completely different system?

[-] An_Zombie@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Fun fact! All gunpowder is self oxidizing

[-] OptimusPhillip@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I guess today is a learning day for all of us! I knew gunpowder contained nitrates, but I didn't realize that was its purpose, or that it allowed it to work in a vacuum.

[-] general_kitten@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

basically all explosives are fuel combined with it's own oxidizer

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 year ago

Pretty much anything explosive need to be self oxidizing. If air can't get in to continue to feed the burning of the material (which never can during an explosion) than the oxygen needs to come from another source.

[-] elxeno@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

They were called spacial operations.

this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
280 points (98.3% liked)

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