14 ms·

Soviet Cosmonauts Carried a Shotgun into Space

151 points by vinnyglennon 12y ago

ghshephard 12y ago
...To ward off wild animals in case the re-entry vehicle lands in the wilderness and rescue takes awhile.
- java-man 12y ago
  exactly. soviet space craft always land on the ground. why is this news?
  - iends 12y ago
    It's not being reported as news, the entire article is full of interesting stories about the gun and why it might be useful for survival.
  - NeutronBoy 12y ago
    Because the expected reaction is supposed to be 'Oh, those silly Soviets. Look at all the weird things they did during the space race'. I bet they also had lifejackets. Who needs lifejackets in space?!
    - HCIdivision17 12y ago
      Wow; I hope you don't mind if I steal that life jacket line. The sheer volume of perfectly rational nonsense that is done flies in the face of what many consider common sense. It's nice to have a simple nonsequitor to jump to for when the need arises.
      - 3JPLW 12y ago
        I like it. It's a shame the Apollo program got rid of the shark repellent from Mercury (at least, as far as I can tell) [1]. It would have been even better to say that NASA took shark repellent to the moon. I guess taking a life raft to the moon is about as good. 1. http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/astronaut-life/medical-survival.cfm http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/onl...
  - nether 12y ago
    it's medium's lame "war is boring" blog. they take a mundane fact about military/aerospace and draw it out with meandering, barely relevant stories in wannabe new yorker style. it doesn't really work for anything besides clicks.
    - PhasmaFelis 12y ago
      Just 'cause you don't enjoy it doesn't mean it's cynical clickbait. This particular item was not news to me, but a lot of the War is Boring stuff is pretty interesting.
  - frozenport 12y ago
    Isn't the best defense against bears, closing the return vehicle door?
    - aruggirello 12y ago
      You can't assume you'll be able to stay in the vehicle - You might need to evacuate it.
      - saiya-jin 12y ago
        plus the doors were blasted out (explosive bolts), so I din't think the door were able to shut anymore. heating didn't work in capsule too. So if curious bear would come (and they are really curious beasts) and start having fun with doors and weird meatbags inside, I don't think they would be in a nice situation
  - benihana 12y ago
    I didn't know any of that and I found it really interesting. Sorry I'm not as informed as you, I'll work on that.
- bmmayer1 12y ago
  The headline would have been 900% better as "The Soviets took bear guns into space"
  - arethuza 12y ago
    What about "Soviets bear guns in space"?
- bvm 12y ago
  Although the pseudo-civilian space station Saylut 3 did in fact have a gun mounted to the ship. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was ever fired by humans, but it does seem likely that it was at fired as the station de-orbited.
dbarlett 12y ago
Not to be confused with the 23mm cannon fired from Salyut 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun
PaulHoule 12y ago
I think their program has always been more militarized than ours. For instance, prior to 1980 they launched space stations with attached machine guns; later they developed a space launch system that visually looks much like the space shuttle and planned to launch a prototype Deathstar with a 1-megawatt laser.
- andrewliebchen 12y ago
  The Space Shuttle's cargo bay was the size it was so it could carry military satellites to orbit. Vandenberg Air Force Base was going to be a west coast launch site for the shuttle, and it seems as though every astronaut use to be a Navy pilot. Our program was plenty "militarized."
  - colechristensen 12y ago
    At least 11 space shuttle missions had classified payloads, it's reasonable to believe most of these were spy satellites. http://www.airspacemag.com/space/secret-space-shuttles-35318554/?no-ist http://www.airspacemag.com/space/secret-space-shuttles-35318...
- saiya-jin 12y ago
  in case you didn't notice, it was cold WAR during that era :) also, US had this tiny little program called STAR WARS... but please continue with your personal impressions, they seem trippy enough to be fun to read
jboggan 12y ago
I disagree with the notion that 5.45x39 out of a roughly 12-inch barrel would be that great against bears. I thought they would at least issue slugs for the shotgun barrel (which is somewhere in between the small 28-gauge and a .410 shotguns in American parlance) but apparently not . . . you need hardened cast projectiles to penetrate on bears, not soft points. Compare the 5.45x39 stats [1] to a round more suited and used for defense against bears [2] 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.45%C3%9739mm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.45%C3%9739mm 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70 Seems like a nice versatile platform for small game though.
- trhway 12y ago
  there are 3 potential targets: 1. bears 2. run-away prisoners and various other "wild" people - illegal (and legal) gold panners, poachers in "taiga" or even marihuana("konoplya") gatherers or similar in Kazahstan "steppe" - in many respects those people are more dangerous than bears 3. small game
  - rl3 12y ago
    When picturing the second scenario, I can't help but think it's a scene straight out of a Hollywood screenplay complete with cheesy one-liners. I mean, we're talking about bandits being dispatched by shotgun-wielding Cosmonauts who just returned from space, and they may still even be wearing their space suits. Wow.
    - stbullard 12y ago
      There was a short film about just that premise recently - only the cosmonaut landed on a farm in the US, and is discovered by a father and son. Wish I could remember the name!
      - otibom 12y ago
        Do you mean Baikonur (2011) ?
Cogito 12y ago
I was particularly interested in the fact that the astronauts going on a mission vote whether or not to take a gun with them (apparently now a standard Russian sidearm), and increasingly vote not to. A very interesting article.
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  Yup. It seems reasonable now as the tracking and rescue infrastructure is much better than it used to. The gun's utility starts to drop in this case. I never knew about the voting before, it's another interesting thing I learned today on HN ;).
e0m 12y ago
There was a story a while back about astronauts returning from the ISS in a Soyuz capsule. The guidance computer failed (can you imagine if all shuttle guidance computers failed!) and they entered a 9G "Ballistic Entry Mode" instead of the 3G "Guided Entry Mode". The capsule and astronauts survived, but they ended up in some far off field in Siberia. I'd want a shotgun with me then.
- eps 12y ago
  That was the Voskhod-2 mission, 1965, the first spacewalk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_2
- phpnode 12y ago
  That's... this story
- kalleboo 12y ago
  That's exactly what this article is about...
m_d 12y ago
I'm sure I already posted this last time this subject came up, but the Soviets also prototyped a Moonraker-esque laser pistol for their cosmonauts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_laser_pistol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_laser_pistol
- folli 12y ago
  No picture :(
biomimic 12y ago
Video?
Gaussian 12y ago
I am impressed by the amount of latent bear fighting knowledge around here. People chiming in from the Yukon and Alaska. Pretty awesome.
vinceyuan 12y ago
I learned a new word 'cosmonaut' from this article. :-) (I am not a native english speaker.)
- urda 12y ago
  It's fun to say too!
  - CmonDev 12y ago
    Yes, and unlike astronauts, they are actually reaching their destination: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/astronaut http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/astronaut
jkot 12y ago
US pilots carry a gun in survival kit as well. I have not found any mentions about astronauts, but Gemini crew had machete. http://www.answers.com/topic/nasa-project-gemini-familiarization-manual http://www.answers.com/topic/nasa-project-gemini-familiariza...
dingaling 12y ago
KLM ( Netherlands airline ) used to pack an Arctic survival kit that included an AR-10 rifle and .308 ammunition. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58AA26J4UnM/UEehaS7_-EI/AAAAAAAACG4/wasT0Hy6v0g/s1600/5.+Polar+survival+kit.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58AA26J4UnM/UEehaS7_-EI/AAAAAAAACG... And rations included copious chocolate for the passengers. Modern kits sadly omit the rifle and carry high-calorie cookies instead of chocolate.

151 points by vinnyglennon 12y ago

ghshephard 12y ago

...To ward off wild animals in case the re-entry vehicle lands in the wilderness and rescue takes awhile.

java-man 12y ago
exactly. soviet space craft always land on the ground. why is this news?
- iends 12y ago
  It's not being reported as news, the entire article is full of interesting stories about the gun and why it might be useful for survival.
- NeutronBoy 12y ago
  Because the expected reaction is supposed to be 'Oh, those silly Soviets. Look at all the weird things they did during the space race'. I bet they also had lifejackets. Who needs lifejackets in space?!
  - HCIdivision17 12y ago
    Wow; I hope you don't mind if I steal that life jacket line. The sheer volume of perfectly rational nonsense that is done flies in the face of what many consider common sense. It's nice to have a simple nonsequitor to jump to for when the need arises.
    - 3JPLW 12y ago
      I like it. It's a shame the Apollo program got rid of the shark repellent from Mercury (at least, as far as I can tell) [1]. It would have been even better to say that NASA took shark repellent to the moon. I guess taking a life raft to the moon is about as good. 1. http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/astronaut-life/medical-survival.cfm http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/onl...
- nether 12y ago
  it's medium's lame "war is boring" blog. they take a mundane fact about military/aerospace and draw it out with meandering, barely relevant stories in wannabe new yorker style. it doesn't really work for anything besides clicks.
  - PhasmaFelis 12y ago
    Just 'cause you don't enjoy it doesn't mean it's cynical clickbait. This particular item was not news to me, but a lot of the War is Boring stuff is pretty interesting.
- frozenport 12y ago
  Isn't the best defense against bears, closing the return vehicle door?
  - aruggirello 12y ago
    You can't assume you'll be able to stay in the vehicle - You might need to evacuate it.
    - saiya-jin 12y ago
      plus the doors were blasted out (explosive bolts), so I din't think the door were able to shut anymore. heating didn't work in capsule too. So if curious bear would come (and they are really curious beasts) and start having fun with doors and weird meatbags inside, I don't think they would be in a nice situation
- benihana 12y ago
  I didn't know any of that and I found it really interesting. Sorry I'm not as informed as you, I'll work on that.
bmmayer1 12y ago
The headline would have been 900% better as "The Soviets took bear guns into space"
- arethuza 12y ago
  What about "Soviets bear guns in space"?
bvm 12y ago
Although the pseudo-civilian space station Saylut 3 did in fact have a gun mounted to the ship. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was ever fired by humans, but it does seem likely that it was at fired as the station de-orbited.

dbarlett 12y ago

Not to be confused with the 23mm cannon fired from Salyut 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun

PaulHoule 12y ago

I think their program has always been more militarized than ours. For instance, prior to 1980 they launched space stations with attached machine guns; later they developed a space launch system that visually looks much like the space shuttle and planned to launch a prototype Deathstar with a 1-megawatt laser.

andrewliebchen 12y ago
The Space Shuttle's cargo bay was the size it was so it could carry military satellites to orbit. Vandenberg Air Force Base was going to be a west coast launch site for the shuttle, and it seems as though every astronaut use to be a Navy pilot. Our program was plenty "militarized."
- colechristensen 12y ago
  At least 11 space shuttle missions had classified payloads, it's reasonable to believe most of these were spy satellites. http://www.airspacemag.com/space/secret-space-shuttles-35318554/?no-ist http://www.airspacemag.com/space/secret-space-shuttles-35318...
saiya-jin 12y ago
in case you didn't notice, it was cold WAR during that era :) also, US had this tiny little program called STAR WARS... but please continue with your personal impressions, they seem trippy enough to be fun to read

jboggan 12y ago

I disagree with the notion that 5.45x39 out of a roughly 12-inch barrel would be that great against bears. I thought they would at least issue slugs for the shotgun barrel (which is somewhere in between the small 28-gauge and a .410 shotguns in American parlance) but apparently not . . . you need hardened cast projectiles to penetrate on bears, not soft points. Compare the 5.45x39 stats [1] to a round more suited and used for defense against bears [2] 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.45%C3%9739mm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.45%C3%9739mm 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45-70 Seems like a nice versatile platform for small game though.

trhway 12y ago
there are 3 potential targets: 1. bears 2. run-away prisoners and various other "wild" people - illegal (and legal) gold panners, poachers in "taiga" or even marihuana("konoplya") gatherers or similar in Kazahstan "steppe" - in many respects those people are more dangerous than bears 3. small game
- rl3 12y ago
  When picturing the second scenario, I can't help but think it's a scene straight out of a Hollywood screenplay complete with cheesy one-liners. I mean, we're talking about bandits being dispatched by shotgun-wielding Cosmonauts who just returned from space, and they may still even be wearing their space suits. Wow.
  - stbullard 12y ago
    There was a short film about just that premise recently - only the cosmonaut landed on a farm in the US, and is discovered by a father and son. Wish I could remember the name!
    - otibom 12y ago
      Do you mean Baikonur (2011) ?

Cogito 12y ago

I was particularly interested in the fact that the astronauts going on a mission vote whether or not to take a gun with them (apparently now a standard Russian sidearm), and increasingly vote not to. A very interesting article.

TeMPOraL 12y ago
Yup. It seems reasonable now as the tracking and rescue infrastructure is much better than it used to. The gun's utility starts to drop in this case. I never knew about the voting before, it's another interesting thing I learned today on HN ;).

e0m 12y ago

There was a story a while back about astronauts returning from the ISS in a Soyuz capsule. The guidance computer failed (can you imagine if all shuttle guidance computers failed!) and they entered a 9G "Ballistic Entry Mode" instead of the 3G "Guided Entry Mode". The capsule and astronauts survived, but they ended up in some far off field in Siberia. I'd want a shotgun with me then.

eps 12y ago
That was the Voskhod-2 mission, 1965, the first spacewalk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_2
phpnode 12y ago
That's... this story
kalleboo 12y ago
That's exactly what this article is about...

m_d 12y ago

I'm sure I already posted this last time this subject came up, but the Soviets also prototyped a Moonraker-esque laser pistol for their cosmonauts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_laser_pistol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_laser_pistol

folli 12y ago
No picture :(

biomimic 12y ago

Video?

Gaussian 12y ago

I am impressed by the amount of latent bear fighting knowledge around here. People chiming in from the Yukon and Alaska. Pretty awesome.

vinceyuan 12y ago

I learned a new word 'cosmonaut' from this article. :-) (I am not a native english speaker.)

urda 12y ago
It's fun to say too!
- CmonDev 12y ago
  Yes, and unlike astronauts, they are actually reaching their destination: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/astronaut http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/astronaut

jkot 12y ago

US pilots carry a gun in survival kit as well. I have not found any mentions about astronauts, but Gemini crew had machete. http://www.answers.com/topic/nasa-project-gemini-familiarization-manual http://www.answers.com/topic/nasa-project-gemini-familiariza...

dingaling 12y ago

KLM ( Netherlands airline ) used to pack an Arctic survival kit that included an AR-10 rifle and .308 ammunition. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58AA26J4UnM/UEehaS7_-EI/AAAAAAAACG4/wasT0Hy6v0g/s1600/5.+Polar+survival+kit.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58AA26J4UnM/UEehaS7_-EI/AAAAAAAACG... And rations included copious chocolate for the passengers. Modern kits sadly omit the rifle and carry high-calorie cookies instead of chocolate.