5 ms·

Reminds me of a charming story from Yuri Gagarin's flight: "Both he and the spacecraft landed via parachute 26 km (16 mi) south west of Engels, in the Saratov

Reminds me of a charming story from Yuri Gagarin's flight: "Both he and the spacecraft landed via parachute 26 km (16 mi) south west of Engels, in the Saratov region at 51.270682°N 45.99727°E. It was 280 km to the west of the planned landing site (near Baikonur). A farmer and her daughter observed the strange scene of a figure in a bright orange suit with a large white helmet landing near them by parachute. Gagarin later recalled, "When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet citizen like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_1#Reentry_and_landing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_1#Reentry_and_landing

IgorPartola 11y ago
Didn't the early cosmonauts also carry handguns in case they landed I Siberia and had to defend themselves against a bear or wolves?
- Turing_Machine 11y ago
  It was actually a triple-barreled weapon. Two shotgun/flare barrels, one rifled barrel. It could be configured in either pistol or carbine mode. http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-space-pistol-shotgun-carbine-flare-gun-no-longer-being-carried-into-space/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-...
  - rangibaby 11y ago
    And a stock that turned into a machete!
- sandworm101 11y ago
  Not early cosmonauts. They remain up there today, in soyus pods attached to the ISS. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23131359/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russia-has-corner-guns-space/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23131359/ns/technology_and_science...
  - toomanybeersies 11y ago
    They haven't taken firearms up into space for some time, the crews always veto taking them before the mission: http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/how-i-stop-cosmonauts-carrying-guns http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/ho...
    - mikeash 11y ago
      That seems weird to me. High-minded principles about keeping weapons out of space, or hypotheticals about crazy crewmembers, seem to pale in comparison to the potential of landing in the wilderness and encountering a pack of wolves or worse. Off-course landings have happened several times before, and while I don't think any of them encountered hostile wildlife, it seems like a serious possibility.
      - justin66 11y ago
        Wolves only hunt people in the movies. More to the point, the survival weapon they're vetoing wouldn't kill a bear, it would piss a bear off. A survival weapon that's useful for actual defense is beyond the scope of what they can carry. You can carry something goofy that exists purely for crew morale in a survival situation, but that's something you want to weigh against other improbable scenarios like a nutty crewmember getting his hands on the weapon. Why even bother worrying about it?
      - sandworm101 11y ago
        I think that with today's better tracking (gps etc) the procedure is to wait for rescue inside the bear and wolf-proof capsule. So the situation of being 'lost' in the wilderness is far less a worry.
        justin66 11y ago
        In general that seems like sound advice but there are definitely going to be times when you want to get clear of the capsule. The obvious one is fire, but the thing that came to mind is the way some astronauts got sick on a floating Gemini or Apollo capsule one time because of fumes leaking from the thrusters. Those are fueled using hypergolics that are super toxic. I have no idea if the thrusters on a Soyuz capsule use hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide or what.
sandworm101 11y ago
Check out this strange pic: https://vintagespace.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/ivan-ivanovich.jpg https://vintagespace.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/ivan-ivanov... "MAKET" means dummy or doll. This is the dummy pilot used in a test flight. The word is there so that any well-meaning farmer who finds the craft won't start cutting anything open in a rescue attempt, possibly destroying test data. I've also seen, but cannot find online, pictographs on soviet spacecraft meant to inform possibly illiterate rescuers that real people are inside and probably need help. Similarly, look at any plane with ejector seats. There are usually signs or diagrams explaining how to pop the canopy and even trigger the ejection seat of a crashed plane (usually by means of a rope).
- zyztem 11y ago
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2425610491 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2425610491 text and action plan on the Soyuz capsule
- usefulcat 11y ago
  Why would it be a good idea to trigger the ejection seat of a crashed plane?
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    Everything is on fire, or about to be. The unconscious pilot is strapped into the seat. Better out now than in for even a few more seconds. Also, I guess, one could use the procedure to render safe and unoccupied seat rather than leave it in the wreckage for some kid to play with. The seat alone doesn't have a proper chute. So it wouldn't be the safest thing for a SAR team to do if their helicopter was parked nearby.
deleted 11y ago
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IgorPartola 11y ago

Didn't the early cosmonauts also carry handguns in case they landed I Siberia and had to defend themselves against a bear or wolves?

Turing_Machine 11y ago
It was actually a triple-barreled weapon. Two shotgun/flare barrels, one rifled barrel. It could be configured in either pistol or carbine mode. http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-space-pistol-shotgun-carbine-flare-gun-no-longer-being-carried-into-space/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-...
- rangibaby 11y ago
  And a stock that turned into a machete!
sandworm101 11y ago
Not early cosmonauts. They remain up there today, in soyus pods attached to the ISS. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23131359/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russia-has-corner-guns-space/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23131359/ns/technology_and_science...
- toomanybeersies 11y ago
  They haven't taken firearms up into space for some time, the crews always veto taking them before the mission: http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/how-i-stop-cosmonauts-carrying-guns http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/ho...
  - mikeash 11y ago
    That seems weird to me. High-minded principles about keeping weapons out of space, or hypotheticals about crazy crewmembers, seem to pale in comparison to the potential of landing in the wilderness and encountering a pack of wolves or worse. Off-course landings have happened several times before, and while I don't think any of them encountered hostile wildlife, it seems like a serious possibility.
    - justin66 11y ago
      Wolves only hunt people in the movies. More to the point, the survival weapon they're vetoing wouldn't kill a bear, it would piss a bear off. A survival weapon that's useful for actual defense is beyond the scope of what they can carry. You can carry something goofy that exists purely for crew morale in a survival situation, but that's something you want to weigh against other improbable scenarios like a nutty crewmember getting his hands on the weapon. Why even bother worrying about it?
    - sandworm101 11y ago
      I think that with today's better tracking (gps etc) the procedure is to wait for rescue inside the bear and wolf-proof capsule. So the situation of being 'lost' in the wilderness is far less a worry.
      - justin66 11y ago
        In general that seems like sound advice but there are definitely going to be times when you want to get clear of the capsule. The obvious one is fire, but the thing that came to mind is the way some astronauts got sick on a floating Gemini or Apollo capsule one time because of fumes leaking from the thrusters. Those are fueled using hypergolics that are super toxic. I have no idea if the thrusters on a Soyuz capsule use hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide or what.

sandworm101 11y ago

Check out this strange pic: https://vintagespace.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/ivan-ivanovich.jpg https://vintagespace.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/ivan-ivanov... "MAKET" means dummy or doll. This is the dummy pilot used in a test flight. The word is there so that any well-meaning farmer who finds the craft won't start cutting anything open in a rescue attempt, possibly destroying test data. I've also seen, but cannot find online, pictographs on soviet spacecraft meant to inform possibly illiterate rescuers that real people are inside and probably need help. Similarly, look at any plane with ejector seats. There are usually signs or diagrams explaining how to pop the canopy and even trigger the ejection seat of a crashed plane (usually by means of a rope).

zyztem 11y ago
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2425610491 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2425610491 text and action plan on the Soyuz capsule
usefulcat 11y ago
Why would it be a good idea to trigger the ejection seat of a crashed plane?
- sandworm101 11y ago
  Everything is on fire, or about to be. The unconscious pilot is strapped into the seat. Better out now than in for even a few more seconds. Also, I guess, one could use the procedure to render safe and unoccupied seat rather than leave it in the wreckage for some kid to play with. The seat alone doesn't have a proper chute. So it wouldn't be the safest thing for a SAR team to do if their helicopter was parked nearby.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]