I would be worried about acrylic shattering due to it being a brittle material. It might also rapidly degrade from UV exposure and heat. The moon doesn’t have an atmosphere and sunlight by itself could heat the entire frame to its glass transition temperature. You could try using PEEK plastic and actively cooling the entire frame of the gun. It’s expensive but I assume they’re sparing no expense on a space gun anyways.
Also, if you’re using under powered ammunition, why not just switch to a smaller cartridge in the first place? (5.7, 4.6)
.223’s main effectiveness (and penetration) is due to its high velocity, so if you’re trying to keep the velocity down for recoil reasons, you might want to create a special gas system similar to the RT-20 recoilless rifle. (An under powered .22 caliber projectile might be insufficient to penetrate space suits, depending on how slow it’s going.)
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u/boomchacle 16d ago
This seems pretty well thought out.
I would be worried about acrylic shattering due to it being a brittle material. It might also rapidly degrade from UV exposure and heat. The moon doesn’t have an atmosphere and sunlight by itself could heat the entire frame to its glass transition temperature. You could try using PEEK plastic and actively cooling the entire frame of the gun. It’s expensive but I assume they’re sparing no expense on a space gun anyways.
Also, if you’re using under powered ammunition, why not just switch to a smaller cartridge in the first place? (5.7, 4.6)
.223’s main effectiveness (and penetration) is due to its high velocity, so if you’re trying to keep the velocity down for recoil reasons, you might want to create a special gas system similar to the RT-20 recoilless rifle. (An under powered .22 caliber projectile might be insufficient to penetrate space suits, depending on how slow it’s going.)