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Did the Soviet Union really fire a cannon from a space station?
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Military officials in the U.S. and other nations have increasingly warned about the potential for conflict in space in the coming years. While many would perceive the current push to militarize space as a concern primarily for modern military thinkers, there is a far deeper — and at times, a surprising — history of warfare technologies developed for use in outer space.
At the height of the Cold War, one particularly unusual early application for space warfare was pursued by the Soviet Union, which involved mounting a rapid-fire cannon aboard a secret military space station. The weapon was reportedly developed for the Soviet-era Almaz military space station program, an ambitious Cold War-era initiative that sought to leverage cutting-edge orbital technologies of the day to enhance Moscow's military reconnaissance capabilities.
At the time, Soviet officials were concerned that the United States was already developing spacecraft that could approach, investigate, and either capture or disable Moscow's sensitive satellites. The natural response to such concerns was to develop defense systems capable of neutralizing such threats — and the result became legendary in some circles as one of the strangest weapons of the Space Race. But was this Soviet "space cannon" ever successfully fired in orbit?
The short answer is yes, according to historian Anatoly Zak, who manages the long-running site Russian Space Web, an online hub for information about orbital pursuits in the USSR.
However, for many years, the appearance of the mysterious orbital cannon remained shrouded in mystery. In an email, Zak told Space that while the existence of this curious weapon of yesteryear had been known for decades, it was not until images were broadcast by the Russian military television program "Voennaya Priemka" that he was able to reassemble the most complete picture of how the weapon actually looked.
"This particular cannon was known since the 1990s, but that propaganda show of the Russian military TV channel showed the hardware from different directions," Zak said.
After examining this rare historical imagery, Zak said it enabled him "to build a detailed 3D reconstruction."
"This is a pretty routine method for historians and I've been doing it for more than two decades," Zak said, and images of his reconstruction, along with details about the cannon and its history, can be seen on his website.
...And after nearly half a century of waiting, finally, a clear visual of the legendary Almaz space cannon (left), along with my circa 2016 virtual recreation. FULL STORY: https://t.co/lmN0BSeWBo https://t.co/o4kfirMC3tFebruary 10, 2021