US Survival Knives in Space
US Astronauts Carried a Wide Array of Edged Weapons
From the first Mercury missions to todays Space Shuttle flights US Astronauts have been armed with rugged edged weapons.
Ever since the first moon rise that was looked upon by modern humans, man has thought of visiting the stars. Likewise, ever since Flash Gordon and his ray gun hit the comic books, man has looked to arming its space travelers. The first US astronauts, those of the Mercury Program, carried a special survival knife. The Randall Model 17 known as "The Astronaut Special" that was strong enough to pry open the capsule hatch if needed. It was designed by USAF Major Gordon Cooper, himself one of those original seven Right Stuff spacemen. The Randal knife was similar to the bowie-shaped survival knives of World War Two. It has a micarta handle and a 5 ½ inch long stainless steel blade. The astronauts were often presented with their knives after the mission as a souvenir. Two of these are on display at the Smithsonian Museum. One of the knives, that belonging to USAF Colonel Gus Grissom was thought lost forever. When his spacecraft LibertyBell 7 was lost in 15,000 feet of water in 1961, it took his survival knife with it. When the LibertyBell 7 was raised in 1999 the knife was found in the bottom of the tiny capsule. It was still serviceable after being under water some 3000 feet deeper than the Titanic for 38 years.
The American Gemini, Apollo and Skylab Program astronauts carried a different edged weapon, the Case MC-1 'NASA Knife'. The NASA Knife was a machete type instrument. The space capsules of the time were envisioned to make water landings and be recovered by aircraft carriers however the possibility of a landing in remote jungle areas of the equator was planned for. The MC-1 was 17 inches overall and had plastic handles. The blade has a sharpened front blade and saw-tooth style back. The photo below is of Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, the twelfth man on the moon, with a NASA Knife during survival training in Panama in 1970.
All US astronauts have carried these instruments and they are today even found in the bright orange ACES survival suits that modern US astronauts wear today on the space shuttle and trips to the International Space Station. Today’s astronauts carry a much simpler Swiss Army knife.
The Russians (Soviets) took it to the next level and have long carried guns in space. They even armed at least one space station with an automatic cannon and to this day carry firearms aboard the International Space Station.
Sources
Williamson, Jim The Randall Story April 1999 Knife World Magazine
Wade, Mark Astronautix.com
LibertyBell 7 Recovery Evaluation NASA TM 1999-209824
