An awful lot of our science fiction stories depend on the ability to use deadly weapons in space, but we never let things like physics and reality spoil a good story. Meanwhile, space scientists and engineers are always considering the effects of space on human activities. Would a gun, the kind with regular bullets, work in outer space? The answer is ...sort of, but there would be differences and consequences.
The Soviets used to take guns into space as a matter of course, but they weren't for space battles. They were armed because their capsules came back over land, and there was the possibility they could touch down in a wilderness area with dangerous wild animals. Targeting is better these days. Cosmonauts once shot a cannon in space, but it was in an unmanned space station that was de-orbiting. We don't really know whether that "experiment" yielded any important data. Read about the feasibility of discharging guns in space at Mental Floss.
(Image credit: brunurb)
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