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Comment by Cpoll | original | Why did some Apollo missions carry a grenade launcher?

[−]Cpoll · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:28 UTC · link

Unlikely that a handgun bullet passing through a skull will still have enough velocity to breach the hull? Even if it did, they'd just need to be deliberate with their aim vis-a-vis a steel plate.

[−]dylan604 · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:01 UTC · link

If you're committing suicide in space, why do you care if there's a hole in the hull of the spacecraft?

[−]echelon · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:56 UTC · link

If there's explosive decompression, you might leave the survivors with a longer, more stressful and painful death.

If the gunshot creates shrapnel or propels the gun away, it might create additional hardship for the remaining crew.

I don't think this is an ideal mechanism.