When Pigs Fly

I once read that NASA spent millions of dollars developing an ink pen that would write upside down, in zero gravity, so the astronauts could use it in space. To counter that, the Russian space program just used a pencil. In the following pictures it looks like the Russians are settling a bet, on whether or not a pig could fly. It makes me wonder what kind of shenanigans the US would have come up with to counter this during the space race. Do you think that monkey we sent up was drunk? Regardless of the space race, this is a bizarre set of photos. What exactly are they doing? Are they testing the vodka? wine? The pig? The cannon/rocket? The parachute? So many more questions. Is the pig wearing a uniform? Why are the two guy's faces all muddy in the next to last photo? WTF is going on here? What ever it is, it looks like it's a a lot cheaper than something the US would try.

After I posted this I was told this wasn't Kosher. Sorry if you're offended.

This just in, as I was posting my follow up above, I got an email informing me that this is Jim Henson practicing what would later be known as...... in a huge booming echoing voice: PIGS IN SPACE.