What weapons do they carry on board the Shuttle?

Does anyone know... when on trips to the space station, does the shuttle just carry a pistol in a lock box like in aeroplanes, or are they equipped with rifles etc, "just incase"?

And what about on moon missions? ...I presume they would be more equipped then, in case of hostiles (maybe..?)

I don't claim to work for The NASA, but come on...

There are terrorists who board out planes that present danger to the world's innocent. Theres nobody on those spaceships going into space other than the authorized personel. They don't need a gun for any unwanted other people. Unless of course you're thinking of aliens getting on our space station. Then in that case, no. They still wouldn't have any use for a gun.

Yep it doesn't make sense at all to go on shuttle or Apollo missions with weapons. They would be useless because there is no threat.

They have $30,000 screwdrivers and $50,000 hammers. ET pheer!

Guns in space are just an all around BAD idea. Bullets tend to go straight through people and on through whatever is behind them. A bullet through the hull makes for a very bad 45-minute day.

I'm sure NASA and other agencies have considered the possibility, however remote, of a hostile. The Russians attempting to force their way on to the Shuttle, for instance. In such an event they could easily just close the bay doors. An alien incursion however... I think they know the crew wouldn't stand a chance. No point in trying to defend themselves.

a gun would work inside the pressurized cabin of the Shuttle or the STS,
but i don't think it would fire in space.

a gun discharge in a confined place with a normal atmosphere is one thing --- but, a gun being discharged in a fragile walled enclosure that has a special mixed atmosphere might produce unexpected results..?


but most anything can be a 'weapon', the wrenches & tool taken up there for equiptment servicing,

even the scaples & needles in the astronauts medical bag...
even the 'paddles' that are used to jolt a heart attack victim back to life
could be used as a weapon. (i'm sure that there's emergency doctoring
equipment aboard) along with a crew member having medical/EMT skill sets on each launch !


please elaborate on the question, it's too open ended as it stands,
thanks,

I believe they carry light sabers.

My guess would be plastic boxcutters.
They are small and easy to get through NASA metal detectors.

You know, Al-Qaeda is developing it's own space program (AQASA - Al-Qaeda Aeronautics and Space Administration). My fine sources suggest they are planning to hijack and crash shuttles into various places where infidels dwell in large numbers.



Of course, space wasps may be a problem, although some bottles of bug spray would do the trick.



[edit on 31-8-2007 by Spreadthetruth]

The current publicly acknowledged STS shuttle orbiters in the NASA fleet have no weapons per se. None. No guns publicly other than a caulking gun called a T-RAD. Not on American craft or the ISS - no US guns.

Tools? Got lots, some "pointy and sharp" for working on machines and humans. Many instruments and devices with big capacitors too - zap! American manned launches before Shuttle did not have handguns either and were designed as "splash-down" vehicles - guns aren't much use bobbing around in the Pacific.

NASA does have plans for when an astronaut freaks out on orbit... Duct tape, tranqs (IM, IV and Oral) and bungees are the prescription. They have a full medicine cabinet. A Space.com article "NASA Has Plan for Unstable Astronauts". The article tells the story as far as NASA and spaceflight and handguns is concerned. I was unable to locate any policy documents at NASA on this to confirm. It also claims "During missions in 1985 and 1995, shuttle commanders put padlocks on the spaceships' hatches as a precaution since they didn't know the scientists aboard". The "new best way forward" is being worked up by NASA to respond to the recent Astronaut Health Study recommendations, "Findings of NASA Safety Review Following Astronaut Health Reviews". PDF's and video.

Do Russian Soyuz have weapons? Yes. A nifty sawed-off shotgun tucked under the commander's seat. There have been several types over the years. A Baikal double-barrel was the earliest and was made flight hardware after a Soyuz (hard-ground landing) crew was harassed by wolves.

More recently TTI-82 and TP-82 Russian 3 barrel scatterguns have been used. They all can fire shells, shot, or flares... the one three barrel deal has a small third barrel for something the equivalent of a 22 caliber-ish payload - not shot likely... a dart or bullet perhaps. A Russian handgun webpage with pics of the TTI-82 here. There are training photos of Anousheh Ansari discharging the weapon over at suzymchale.com and a piece on Soyuz Survival Training here.

Light Sabers? Yup. NASA will fly a "prop" this Fall according to The Flame Trench over at FloridaToday.com.

The Soyuz shotgun was last used on on the return of ISS Expedition 6 when the vehicle came up short 300KM and Cosmonaut Budarin discharged a few rounds to try and attract attention of locals while waiting for the ground support helicopters.

Here's a related ATS thread for those with an interest "Weaponry » Should the Space Shuttle Be Armed?"

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 31-8-2007 by V Kaminski]

Originally posted by St Udio
a gun would work inside the pressurized cabin of the Shuttle or the STS,
but i don't think it would fire in space.

A gun should have no problem firing in space. Everything the bullet needs to propel itself is encased in a closed copper jacket, so there's no reason to think it wouldn't work. One problem in using guns in space, however, is newtons third law, which states for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that the force put into the bullet is equally put into the man holding it. So firing a gun in space is going to send you flying, spinning, or crashing towards something in an unwanted way.

This, of course, ignores all the other hazards of discharging a firearm in space.

They test how water react in space why not how guns behave?

Besides, better be safe than sorry. Ask yourself, if you are to go to the center of the earth, would you carry a gun just in case?

Originally posted by electronQM
This means that the force put into the bullet is equally put into the man holding it. So firing a gun in space is going to send you flying, spinning, or crashing towards something in an unwanted way.

The force put into the bullet is ALWAYS put into the man holding it, in space or earth, no difference. If the mass of the gun equals the mass of the bullet, THEN you go flying (backwards). That is why guns are so heavy.

Not having any weapons on the space shuttle is not very bright. I doubt it would involve conventional guns. To go into space unarmed would be mean you would have to be 100% sure no threats exist anywhere in the entire universe.

[edit on 7-9-2007 by NuclearPaul]

[edit on 7-9-2007 by NuclearPaul]

I don't believe guns are the answer. However, I believe the original thread asked about weapons in general. In fact I agree. A weapon is never a bad idea. Not only for protection, but for use as a tool. There are a million possiblities and therefore without knowing what is out there with definate accuracy, you can be sure it is never a bad idea to be prepared. I have heard they had weapons on the first flight to the moon. Why not now

Sorry for the double post!!!!!!! I scewed up

[edit on 7-9-2007 by theutahbigfoothunter]

Originally posted by NuclearPaul
The force put into the bullet is ALWAYS put into the man holding it, in space or earth, no difference. If the mass of the gun equals the mass of the bullet, THEN you go flying (backwards). That is why guns are so heavy.

I think we've forgotten the gravity element here. Yes the force is put back into the person holding it, but here we are firmly planted on earth. Anyone can fire a hand gun, but there is recoil (gun tilting upward, person receiving a slight jolt from the kickback, etc). However, in space, this would be transferred into energy and propulsion in the opposite direction the gun is fired (AKA the person holding it). This would cause the scenario that Electron stated, and needless to say, would not be good

However, I'm no gun or space expert.

It's important to note that gravity does not dampen recoil in any way, that is inertia, which is relative to mass.

[edit on 7-9-2007 by NuclearPaul]