Is there anything on Earth more terrible than mechanical weapons? Yes, space weapons. It sounds unnecessary, conspiratorial and extremely dangerous, but we are talking about an idea that was evaluated, developed and implemented in real life. Soviet Union load, so far, with a single antecedent country that took a cannon from our planet and fired it. We are talking about the “Richter R-23”.
The story is quite idiosyncratic and has the typical overtones of any other Cold War-related anecdote. And while many of the details surrounding this initiative are still the subject of speculation, over the years some information has been made public to paint a reasonably realistic picture of the event.
At a time of growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, especially due to global military power and intervention, the space race has accomplished a transcendent task. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Americans and the Soviets openly competed to conquer space. Thus, apart from trying to defeat their rival through scientific and technological means, it was only a matter of time before one of the parties explore the weapon side of this issue.
So in June 1974, the Soviet Union launched a space station Salute 3. It was part of a program of the same name, consisting of a number of manned research laboratories. However, as publicly reported, Salyut-3 was not intended for civilian purposes; it was a military intelligence station that was part of a secret program Diamond.
Therefore, in addition to equipment consisting of various cameras and sensors, Salyut-3 had a feature carry an integrated cannon. Cause? Alleged “self-defense”.
The Soviet Union is the only country to have launched a weapon into space.
According to available information, the R-23 Richter was not developed for the specific purpose of active use in space. This is an automatic weapon created KB Tochmash, a Moscow arms design bureau headed by Alexander Nudelman. Its original implementation was in Tupolev Tu-22supersonic bomber that integrated it into the tail turret.
Among the various features of this weapon, it is mentioned that it was powered by gas and that it could fire about 2000 bullets per minute, about 2600 revolutions per minute (RPM). However, it is not known how much the version installed on the Salyut-3 differed from the one that was originally used in the military aviation of the Soviet Union.
It was mentioned that since the cannon was located at the front of the space station, it was necessary to completely change its height in order to be able to aim at a specific target. However, it was never planned to be launched with a crew inside Salyut 3, as there were great concerns about the vibration that could be caused by the action of the weapon, especially if it could disrupt the structure in orbit.
Therefore, when the Soviet Union used it, the shots were fired remotely from the ground.
Space as a “shooting gallery”
Salyut-3 spent only seven months in space, accepting only the mission’s crew. Soyuz 14. The Soviet Union tried to fly more missions to this space station, but Soyuz 15 failed in its docking attempts and had to be aborted. After this situation, it was decided that no more astronauts would be sent.
Thus, it was also determined that the weapons would be tested in space before the station was deorbited and dropped into the Pacific Ocean. Here the reports are rather inaccurate: everyone agrees that the Richter R-23 cannon in fact, he was shot on January 24, 1975.just a few hours before the announcement of the re-entry into the atmosphere of Salyut-3. However, test conditions are a matter of controversy.
Some reports state that only one shot was fired, and also state that three different rounds were fired. The number of rounds was also disputed, with only a few rounds reported being used (allegedly around 20) and others that the magazine was empty. It mentions that the shooters must have started the space station’s engines at the time of the shooting. to counteract the effect of “recoil” from the power of the barrel.
Was any particular lens used? Or shot into the void of space? The specified information, as well as the results obtained, have never been declassified; even after the collapse of the USSR.
A story shrouded in many secrets
The case of Salyut-3 and its Richter R-23 cannon is one of many stories that emerged during the Cold War. It is not surprising if there were similar ones with the participation of not only the Soviet Union, but also the United States. There was even talk that the next step of the Soviets was arm your satellites with missilesalthough this has never been tested.
However, it is also noteworthy that the accusations of the militarization of space have not disappeared, despite the past years. Last April, the Pentagon issued a report expressing concern about the apparent increase in the number of laser weapons developed by China and Russia to disable American satellites. Although in this case, the accused parties would no longer have to send their weapons into space, but could fire them from the Earth.
Source: Hiper Textual
