Laser pistol prototype
During the Cold War, political tension was great and at times reached senile limits. And the idea of a "Soviet cosmonaut" versus an "American cosmonaut" seemed quite real. Therefore, it was required to arm our compatriots not only in case of landing in remote corners of our planet (for this our cosmonaut had - SONAZ (small arms of a wearable emergency stock) TP-82, and the American astronaut had a knife "Astro 17") but also in case of immediate confrontation.
Let's see what kind of weapon a Soviet cosmonaut would have had to wield according to the plan of scientists of that time …
The first weapon that went into space was the Makarov pistol, which had been part of the cosmonaut's emergency reserve since Yuri Gagarin's flight. Since 1982, it has been replaced by a specially designed for survival and self-defense in the conditions of an emergency landing SONAZ - "portable emergency stock small arms", also known under the TP-82 marking, the astronaut's three-barreled pistol.
The Americans, on the other hand, took a simpler approach to the problem and decided to arm their astronauts with classic survival knives, called "Astro 17" and made in the style of the legendary Bowie knife.
The first attempts to create a weapon, the damaging factor of which was a laser beam, were undertaken back in the 1970s, both in the United States and in the USSR. However, such a task was difficult to implement, taking into account the scientific and technological progress of that time. During development in the USSR, it was initially decided that this weapon would be non-lethal. Its main purpose was self-defense and disabling the enemy's electronic and optical systems.
In 1984, within the framework of the Almaz program, to protect the eponymous Soviet OPS (orbital manned stations) and DOS (long-term inhabited stations), Salyut from satellites-inspectors and interceptors of a potential enemy at the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) was developed according to -Really fantastic weapon - fiber laser pistol.
The research group was headed by the head of the department, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the RSFSR, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Major General Viktor Samsonovich Sulakvelidze. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Boris Nikolaevich Duvanov was engaged in theoretical and experimental studies of the damaging effect of a laser pistol. Researcher A. V. Simonov, researcher L. I. Avakyants and associate V. V. Gorev.
The designers aimed to develop compact weapons for disabling enemy optical systems.
Laser weapon prototypes. From left to right: Single Shot Laser Pistol, Laser Revolver, Laser Pistol.
At the first stage of development, the authors of the future invention found that for this purpose, a relatively low radiation energy is sufficient - within 1 - 10 J. (which, by the way, makes it possible to blind the enemy).
As a source of optical pumping, pyrotechnic flash lamps were used, which have sufficient energy and, at the same time, are very compact.
The scheme of work was simple and reliable: the pyrotechnic flash lamp repeats the design of a conventional 10 mm caliber cartridge, which is placed by a shutter from a magazine in the chamber, which is a lighting chamber. By means of an electric piezo pulse in the cartridge, a mixture of zirconium foil and metal salts is ignited. As a result, a flash occurs with a temperature of almost 5000 ° C, this energy is absorbed by the optical elements of the pistol behind the lighting chamber and converted into a pulse. Weapon 8-charger is not automatic - recharging is done manually. The striking power of the released beam is up to 20 meters.
A laser revolver was also developed, which, unlike a pistol, has the ability to fire self-cocking, but was 6 loaded.
The main elements of a laser pistol, like any laser, are the active medium, the pump source and the optical resonator.
As a medium, the designers first chose an yttrium-aluminum garnet crystal, which generates a beam in the infrared range at a relatively low pump power. The mirrors deposited on its ends served as a resonator. A small-sized gas-discharge flash lamp was used for optical pumping. Since even the most compact power supply weighed 3 - 5 kg, it had to be placed separately from the pistol.
A single-shot prototype laser weapon built into the body of a lighter pistol.
At the second stage, it was decided to replace the active medium with fiber-optic elements - in them, like in a garnet crystal, the radiation was initiated by neodymium ions. Due to the fact that the diameter of such a "filament" was about 30 μm, and the surface of the bundle assembled from its sections (from 300 to 1000 pieces) was large, the lasing threshold (the lowest pump energy) decreased, and resonators became unnecessary.
The matter remained with a small-sized optical pumping source. In its capacity, it was decided to use disposable pyrotechnic flash lamps.
Each ten-millimeter cylinder contained a pyrotechnic mixture - zirconium foil, oxygen and metal salts, and a tungsten-rhenium thread covered with a combustible paste to ignite it.
Set on fire by an electric spark from an external source, such a lamp burns out in 5-10 milliseconds at a temperature of about 5000 degrees Kelvin. Thanks to the use of zirconium foil, the specific light energy of the pyrotechnic lamp is three times higher than that of conventional samples using magnesium. The metal salts added to the mixture "adjust" the lamp radiation to the absorption spectrum of the active element. The pyrotechnic mixture is non-toxic and does not detonate spontaneously.
Eight flash lamps are located in the store, similar to the cartridges of a firearm. After each "shot" the spent lamp is thrown out like a cartridge case, and the next ammunition is fed into the lighting chamber. The source of energy for electric ignition is a battery of the "Krona" type fixed in a special guide under the barrel.
The fiber-optic active element absorbs radiation from the burning lamp, which causes a laser pulse in it, directed through the pistol barrel to the target.
The beam released from the barrel of the weapon retains its scorching and blinding effect at a distance of up to 20 meters.
On the basis of a laser pistol with a pyrotechnic flash lamp, a laser revolver with a 6-round drum magazine and a single-shot ladies' laser pistol were also designed.
The developers stated the possibility of modifying the pistol from a military weapon into a medical instrument (apparently, this required replacing the optical pumping source).
All experimental work was done by hand. At the end of the research at one of the enterprises, the serial production of lamps was already being established, but the conversion of the defense industry put an end to the development of the project. The production line was curtailed, however, the work continued by inertia, but until the stock of produced lamps ran out.
Currently, a laser pistol with a pyrotechnic flash lamp is recognized as a monument of science and technology of the 1st category and is exhibited in the museum of the Strategic Missile Forces Military Academy named after Peter the Great.
About the gun after the second minute:
