M
Mike Wehner
Guest
- A space station launched by Russia during the Cold War included a built-in cannon, but it wasn't revealed until after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
- The spacecraft's weapon, which has previously only been seen in a single very low-quality photo, was further declassified this year, giving us a much better look at it.
- It is still considered to be the only gun ever fired in space, and it was fired a total of three times over the course of the space station's brief life.
Spacecraft have been used in military operations for many decades. Spy satellites peer down from above, revealing information that belligerents may find useful when planning and executing an attack, but when it comes to true weaponry in space, it doesn't really exist (as far as we know). The one exception to this is Russia's OPS-2 space station which was launched in 1974 and was equipped with a first-of-its-kind space cannon.
The space station had a brief life and was deorbited the year after it launched. During its time in space, it was home to a single crew of cosmonauts who spent just 15 days onboard. A second mission failed a docking attempt and by late 1974 the space station's days were already numbered. The weapon it held has only been seen in a single low-quality image. That is, until Russia declassified a much clearer photo of the cannon earlier this year.
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Russia declassified images of its space cannon, the only gun ever fired in space originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 17 Feb 2021 at 22:26:27 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Via BRG - Boy Genius Report