April 12, 1961, marked a significant milestone in world history when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to embark on a historic journey into space. Following this, astronauts from the Soviet Union continued to undertake new missions and set impressive records.
During their space flights, Soviet astronauts typically carried items such as food, medicine, family photos, and favorite books. One particularly intriguing item that astronauts brought with them was a gun.
The gun was a special item that Soviet astronauts took into space.
The use of explosive or projectile weapons is generally not recommended by experts in a zero-gravity environment. However, this does not imply that such weapons are not usable in space.
The initiative to bring firearms into space was led by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who was the first person to conduct a spacewalk. Cosmonaut Leonov found himself stranded in a forest after landing.
Since then, astronauts have been equipped with guns as part of their emergency gear in space to protect themselves from wild animals, such as bears, in case their spacecraft lands in remote areas like Siberia.
The TP-82, developed specifically for the Soyuz program, features three barrels—two on top and one below. One barrel is for firing bullets, another for firing shotgun shells, and the last one is for igniting flares.
Before 2006, astronauts consistently carried the TP-82 during their space missions. The TP-82 was designed with three barrels: one for standard ammunition, one for shotgun shells, and one for flares.
During their missions in space, astronauts kept their firearms in a metal case.
If everything went according to plan, astronauts landing in a safe location would never open that case. At the end of the mission, the guns taken into space were often gifted to the astronauts as mementos.
By mid-2006, authorities and experts found the TP-82 too bulky and replaced it with a more compact weapon: the Makarov—a semi-automatic pistol that uses 9mm ammunition.
