Ever since President Trump announced that a Space Force should be established, firearms enthusiasts have envisioned space suited door gunners, shooting any variety of futuristic-looking “space guns”.  The hope for a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range has been renewed once more.  As we move closer to the proposed, four year buildup of the United States Space Force, let’s look at some more realistic options for choosing a standard issue firearm of the Space Force.  First, though, let’s look at some of the challenges that stand in the way of bringing a firearm into the final frontier.

arming the space force with space guns: the weight problem… in zero gravity?

The problem of weight, as it pertains to choosing which firearm to fire in space, comes in two different aspects.  Weight of the chosen firearm itself isn’t actually that large of a challenge, but the weight of the bullet it fires can come into play if a spacewalker fires enough rounds.  Getting the gun and ammo into space is fairly trivial since each gun will only weigh one and a half to three pounds, which is only a tiny fraction of the weight of the person that will be carrying it.

Firing a gun in space will have an effect on the shooter’s speed and motion, which is based on the weight of the projectile and the position of the gun relative to the center of the shooter’s mass.  Sir Isaac Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  The heavier the bullet, the more it affects the shooter’s speed, which compounds the issue each time a round is fired.  Most basic YouTube explanations of this issue claim that each shot will send an astronaut backwards, which is sort of true, but more accurately, it would really be slowing them down in the context of being in orbit.  Either way, if you’re moving backward or slowing down, the shooter may want to be tethered to the space ship, I know I would.  The other option would be to have a self-contained stabilization system, which is certainly possible but sounds complicated, and expensive.  I’m sorry to dash any hopes of a Moonraker style space battle, but perhaps we can work up to it… Or was that a cautionary tale rather than a how-to?

arming the space force with space guns: extreme temperatures

The next challenge when settling on a standard firearm for the Space Force is wild temperature swings.  Temps range from around 460 to -460 degrees Fahrenheit. Are the polymer guns up to the task, or will they become too brittle in the cold or melt in the light of the sun?  In Earth’s orbit, the astronauts see these swinging temperatures about every 90 minutes.

These wild temperature swings will also affect lubrication, either by evaporating it off or freezing it solid.  This problem leads me to choose a space gun that can run without lubrication, so as much as the AR-15 pattern rifle has gained military usage across the globe, its need for lube will likely preclude it orbiting the world that has embraced it.

The following two videos demonstrate another interesting factor when it comes to using firearms in space.  Extreme cold will negatively affect the velocity at which the bullet will leave the muzzle of the chosen space gun.  In the first video from Davydiver’s YouTube channel shows a shooter using liquid nitrogen to cool down .22LR cartridges to around -300 degrees (F) to see what affect the extreme negative temps have on the velocity.  In the second video, Eric from the Iraqveteran8888 YouTube channel fires a gun cooled to about -110 degrees (F). 

As demonstrated in the videos, the extreme negative temps do decrease the velocity of the projectiles, but it’s not a complete deal-breaker when it comes to using conventional arms as space guns.

arming the space force with space guns: ruling out rifles

Yes, you read the heading right.  I’m completely ruling out rifles for the Space Force, at least while actually in space.  Yet another challenge of taking guns into space, is the limitations of the spacesuit, which are currently referred to as Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).  Spacesuits have always been somewhat cumbersome, so slinging a rifle will only complicate matters.  Before you take to your keyboard to bring the fire of a thousand suns upon me, there’s more.  The torso of the EMU is made of a hard, rounded shell, covered with the fabric layers.  Even if a special torso shell could be fabricated to accommodate shouldering a rifle, the helmet will cause some serious sight alignment issues.

When it comes to actually firing a firearm in anger in space, simply landing a bullet on target is the goal.  The bullet doesn’t have to expand, and it doesn’t have to tumble and yaw inside the enemy. Just putting a hole in the enemy’s suit creates a big problem he’ll need to sort out and will most likely take him out of the fight.  Current EMU’s have enough air and pressure for a quick retreat to the space station, so the more holes the suit has, the time left to retreat reduces considerably.

EMU suits are constructed of 13 layers of varying materials, one of which is Kevlar. However, that layer is thin and designed to stop really fast micro meteors up to 2mm.  Despite the EMU’s 13 layers, there’s still only three-sixteenths of an inch (3/16″) between an astronaut and very unlivable conditions.  It’s because of these thin layers that I think a rifle would be overkill, while adding more parts and complication in carrying, storage and maintenance.

 

arming the space force with space guns: defeating soft armor

If we can assume that the current ballistic protection in EMU spacesuits is at Level II-A or less, then let us also assume that it could eventually be up-armored to Level IIIA when the escalation begins.  In my opinion, outfitting an entire space suit with hard armor adds cost to get it into orbit and carries a mobility penalty by adding bulk to an already complicated and cumbersome system.  If this assumption is correct, then defeating that armor shouldn’t be a monumental task, even though I’ve already excluded rifles from consideration.  The photo below (poorly) shows the layers used to construct an astronaut’s EMU.  A recent article on TFB reported on a new possible 3D printed polymer product for ballistic protection, which readers immediately realized the potential for protection in space.  We’ll keep an eye on that development as it unfolds. 

CONCLUSION

Having delved into the weight issue, extreme temps, and excluded rifles from the mix, but adding armor, we’ve just narrowed down the list of possible guns to choose from in a hurry.  Now that the bigger challenges to bringing guns into space have been addressed, in Part 2, I’ll cover the calibers and guns that I think fit the bill for arming the new Space Force. 

What do you think?  Are there other hurdles I didn’t cover?  Based on the factors above, what do you think the best space gun would be?

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Previously on The Rimfire Report, we briefly went over a shooting sport conducted during the winter Olympics – The Biathlon. However, the summer Olympics has its own set of shooting sports which include both rimfire rifles and pistols. Today we’ll briefly go over some of the rules, equipment, and disciplines involved in the Shooting Sports for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics being hosted at the Asaka Shooting range in Japan. Olympic Rimfire sports have a long history dating back to the beginning of the modern games in 1896.

25 Meter Rapid Fire Pistol

As the name implies, this competition involves shooting at a 25-meter distance with a pistol, specifically a rimfire pistol. The 25 Meter Rapid Fire Pistol event is derived from the ISSF (International Sport Shooting Federation). The ISSF also recognizes several other Olympic shooting sports including events involving shotguns.

This 25-meter Rapid Fire Pistol event is always shot with .22 LR pistols. Competitors will use their highly specialized pistols to engage a target with 5 shots. Each set of 5 shots constitutes a string and is graded by accuracy. Each target must be engaged using only one hand, making the shots incredibly difficult to master.

Competitors start from a “low and ready” position that is 45 degrees down from their starting position. There are three different time limits for the series: 8 seconds, 6 seconds, and 4 seconds. A stage consists of two series of each type, and a full course of fire comprises two such stages or a total of 60 shots. Since the targets are divided into concentric score zones with 10 being the most central part, the total maximum score is 600. Iron sights are the only sights that are used in the Olympic 25 Meter Rapid Fire competition.

6 finalists eventually go on to compete in an elimination-style match which includes their cumulative score until the winner is determined after 8 total strings (series) and 40 shots.

25 Meter Rapid Fire Pistol History

25 Meter Rapid Fire Pistol has been a part of the Olympic games as far back as 1896. The Rules changed significantly over time, especially before WWII. Some of the changes came at the expense of performance however as in 2005 new rules were put in place that restricted the types of grips and trigger pull weights that were legal to use. In 1989 the sport also banned the use of .22 Short cartridges under the blanket rule change of limiting the competition to “Sport Pistols” only.

This series of rule changes saw companies like Walther making bids to design completely new pistols to conform to the requirements of the Olympic sport and ISSF. One such pistol – the Walther SSP is an extremely odd-looking pistol. The SSP replaced the OSP which was rendered obsolete by the rule changes in 2005.

The Walther SSP makes use of detachable 5 round magazines, weighs 34 oz, has a 6-inch barrel and features an extremely light 2.2 lb (or 1000 gram) trigger pull. If you’re looking to get into Olympic pistol competitions, one of these pistols will set you back $2,095.00 just to start, and this doesn’t include years of training or magazines – and all that ammo you’ll be practicing with.

50 MEter Rifle Three Positions

This three-position competition involves shooting from a standing, kneeling and prone position during the course of fire. During the event, each competitor must complete the course of fire within a limited time frame of 2 hours and 45 minutes. Naturally, only .22 LR rimfire rifles are used.

The target used is a 6 inch black and white target with several rings used for grading the accuracy of the shooter. The target is placed at a fixed height above the floor of the shooting range at .75 meters or just under 2.5 feet.

Until recently, men and women competed by different standards with women’s competitions tending to be shorter and with shorter courses of fire. Each course of fire follows in the following order: Kneeling – 40 shots, Prone – 40 shots and Standing – 40 shots. This is considered a qualification course of fire. Following the qualification round, the top 8 shooters will fire an additional 10 shots one at a time in the standing position. The winner of the match is the shooter with the highest score from both the qualification and final rounds.

Olympic Rimfire Rifles used in the 50 meter three position

Rifles used in the three-position target match tend to be made by three competing companies. Anschutz makes many rifles used in this competition as well as the Biathlon. Feinwerkbau and Walther also make rifles in the rimfire target category and it goes without saying that all three options cost quite a bit even at their base price.

Where in biathlon competitions you are striving for the lightest rig possible for skiing, in the 50 Meter Three-position weight is not as much of issue whereas accuracy and consistency are. All rifles used in the 50-meter competition are bolt action single shot .22 LR rifles. Materials and trigger tuning will vary greatly depending on the preferences of the shooter with Walnut and synthetic stocks being common sights along with adjustable cheekpieces on the competitor’s stock.

Summer Olympics 2020

The Summer Olympic Games are a great opportunity for all participating countries to showcase their best athletes. I am glad that we live in an age and time that allows for everyone to participate in this sport – even countries that have heavier restrictions on firearms than the United States.

So if you find time this coming Summer, check out the Shooting Sports that are showcased. A couple others not mentioned in this article are the 50 Meter Prone shooting which also uses .22 rimfire rifles. There is also an extremely exciting Olympic Trapshooting competition in addition to the Olympic Rimfire sports.  Thanks again for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report. What are some shooting sports around the world you’re looking forward to? Let us know down in the comments.

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