14 DAY TRIAL // You would probably think that space is the last place in the universe where one may find a shotgun. Of course the possibility of that to ever happen is rather slim, but nonetheless it doesn't mean that firearms cannot be found into space. Russian Soyuz capsules have been routinely carrying guns into space for some decades now, even though there seems to be no practical justification for such an action. Now Moscow negotiating the weapons in space ban treaty seems to have struck another deal, as nobody for now on will be able to carry firearms into space, but with one condition: Russia gets to keep those that are already in space!
So why did Russia carry weapons into space anyway? Well, if you consider that, in the fall of last year, a Soyuz spacecraft carrying three people on board landed far away from its designated spot, then things start to get a bit clearer. Nonetheless, we may have to remind ourselves that we are living in the year 2008, and the potential of an off-course that could lead to a delayed rescue mission should in fact be not zero, but somewhere below that.
Similar to the U.S. Gemini and Apollo spacecrafts, the Russian spacecrafts are also provided with emergency kits, containing water, food, clothing and a series of other miscellaneous for basic survival. However, Russian engineers thought this was hardly enough and also equipped the Soyuz spacecraft with a rather special firearm, carrying three barrels, a machete and a folding stock that can be used as a shovel, just in case a re-entry into Earth atmosphere goes terribly wrong and the spacecraft lands in a remote region of the Earth. But returns to Earth are not the only concern, team members with psychological problems may spell disaster in the presence of such a device.
Recently, as news report added that the firearms that have been used until recently on the Soyuz spacecrafts were to be replaced with sidearms, due to the fact that the ammunition for them has exceeded the shelf life, and Russia no longer holds control of the factory that used to produce them during the U.R.S.S. era.
Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko seems to have no idea, or so he claims, of the change of the type of firearms carried by Russian astronauts, neither the two astronauts, of which one American, commanded by the Russian astronaut, nor does NASA want to discuss problems that fall under the responsibility of the Russian space program.
During flights, the gun is packed into a metal canister located between two couches on the Soyuz spacecraft and is only used in case of a failed landing situation, then it is given as a present to the commander of the Soyuz capsule. The whole story started in 1965, when a Soyuz spacecraft landed in a remote area of Russian territory and apparently the crew had encountered hungry wolves, or bears, even though the rescue helicopter team stated that, in fact, the wolves were about 3 kilometers away the landing site, nowhere near the capsule.
In contrast, the U.S. space agency NASA, had never carried firearms into space, but machetes were provided just in case a capsule were to land in a jungle area, and even though rescue missions can localize a stranded space capsule in the matter of a few minutes, the firearms still remain on board Soyuz spacecrafts. Training usually takes place on the Black Sea, when the crew learn how to exit the spacecraft while it is floating on water.
Sure its useful in survival situations, but who has control over it? Astronaut Dave Wolf, part of the crew on board Mir between 1997-1998 says that the Soyuz commander controls the use of the gun. The problem is that between the commander of the capsule and gun, stand nothing and theoretically anyone could get a hold of it. That is kind of worrying, especially considering that the future space station program involves visits from space tourists. Not that I doubt the mental health of some of those people, but there were cases when mission commanders threatened to kill themselves.
Such devices should be at least kept locked, so that only the commander of the spacecraft has access to it. The next Soyuz capsule is to be launched into space on April 8, and it most likely is already containing a firearm, but, if the Russians really want to ban guns into space, they should start shifting towards non-lethal weapons!