ASSO-400 Harpoon Grappling Gun

ASSO-400 Harpoon Grappling Gun
Production Information
Manufacturer	SpaceSub
Type	Harpoon gun
Technical Information
Size	Length 19 in
Ammunition	Grappling harpoon
Range	Short
Usage
Era(s)	22nd century

The SpaceSub ASSO-400 Harpoon Grappling Gun was a type of grappling gun designed for use in emergency manual docking operations. One such weapon was notably used by Ellen Ripley to aid in evacuating the Alien aboard the shuttle Narcissus in 2122.

History

In 2122, a lone Xenomorph Drone was born aboard the freighter USCSS Nostromo and began killing the crew until only Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley was left alive. Ripley activated the ship's self destruct system and fled to the shuttle Narcissus with the ship's cat Jones, and launched the shuttle as the Nostromo was destroyed. However, unbeknownst to Ripley, the Alien was already aboard the shuttle. Ripley duly discovered it, and donned an MK 50 Compression Suit while arming herself with an ASSO–400. After flushing the creature out of its hiding place and opening the shuttle's access hatch, Ripley discharged the weapon at the Alien as it attempted to remain inside the craft. The harpoon struck the Alien and became lodged in its midsection; the hatch then closed on the harpoon's cord, tethering the Alien to the shuttle and jamming the harpoon gun against the hatch. The Alien then tried to board the shuttle via the engine, but Ripley hit the ignition and the creature was successfully ejected.

Twenty years later in 2142, the harpoon was still stuck in the Alien when it was recovered by the Echo 203 space probe and taken to the Renaissance space station. When a small crew of scavengers from the Jackson's Star colony discovered the Alien's corpse, Ripley's harpoon was still embedded within.

Later, in 2179, when a salvage team discovered the Narcissus still drifting through space, the harpoon gun remained trapped under the access hatch.

Behind the Scenes

The Seac Sub ASSO 40

The prop used in Alien appears to have been based on an Italian-made Seac Sub ASSO 40. This was later referenced when the weapon was given an official designation in Alien: The Roleplaying Game — the ASSO-400, manufactured by SpaceSub.

Trivia

• The ASSO-400 used by Ripley makes a brief reappearance in Aliens — just before the robotic arms cuts through the Narcissus hatch at the beginning of the film, the gun can be glimpsed wedged beneath the door, just where it ended up at the conclusion of Alien.
• In the June 1979 script for Alien and in the novelization of the film, the harpoon gun does not exist; instead, after Ripley puts on the space suit she arms herself with a metal spear, which she uses to impale the Alien before opening the airlock, sending the Alien into space, without the need to shoot it with the harpoon gun.

Appearances

• Alien
• Aliens
• Alien: The Roleplaying Game
• Building Better Worlds
• Alien: Romulus (harpoon only)

Gallery

Ripley in a Mk.50 armed with a harpoon gun.

A close-up as the barbs are deployed.

Ripley in a Mk.50 fires the harpoon gun.

The Alien shot in the abdomen with the harpoon.

The ASSO-400 Harpoon Grappling Gun, jammed in the airlock door.

Props

A harpoon gun prop used in Alien.

A harpoon gun prop in the back of Pat Lowry's car (Ridley Scott's driver). Images are from Dennis Lowe's Alien Makers V film.

The stunt (non-firing) prop used in Alien. Image is from a Cooper-Owen auction catalogue.

External Links

• Prop Archives - Sigourney Weaver hero harpoon gun from Alien