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Apr 11, 2018 · On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2, with the dog Laika aboard, lifted off with g-forces reaching five times normal gravity levels. NASM. The Soviet canine recruiters began their quest with a herd of ...
- Alice George
Alice George, Ph.D. is an independent historian with a...
- Russia
A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat...
- Space Travel
The space agency’s chief health and medical officer refutes...
- Alice George
Soviet space program. Laika (/ ˈlaɪkə / LY-kə; Russian: Лайка, IPA: [ˈlajkə]; c. 1954 – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, launched into low orbit on 3 November 1957.
- The Early Years of Animals in Space
- Why Laika The Dog Went to Space
- The Legacy of “Muttnik”
Born around 1954, Laika roamed the streets of Moscow for nearly three years before she was scooped up by the authorities. She would soon end up in the Soviet space program — where she would change history forever. But Laika wasn’t the first animal in space. Surprisingly, that honor belonged to a group of fruit flies. These flies had been launched t...
Much to the chagrin of the United States, Sputnik 1 became the first satellite placed in orbit on October 4, 1957. But despite this accomplishment, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev demandedanother “space spectacular” mission to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. With just weeks to make that happen, the Soviets hastily pr...
During and after Laika’s doomed trip to space, the Soviets claimed that she had survived for several days on the rocket and implied that her death had been humane in contemporary broadcasts and even official documents. The truth was so muddled that the American press even reported at one point that she might survive — unaware that she was already d...
- Teresa Cantero
Nov 3, 2014 · On this day, Nov. 3, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first-ever living animal into orbit: a dog named Laika. The flight was meant to test the safety of space travel for humans, but it was a ...
Feb 20, 2024 · A Soviet street dog went up to space, but the USSR was ill-prepared for her stay in space. Menu. Science. 65 years ago, a street dog paved the way for human spaceflight — with a grim outcome.
Oct 30, 2024 · Laika was a small (13 pounds [6 kg]), even-tempered, mixed-breed dog about two years of age. She was one of a number of stray dogs that were taken into the Soviet spaceflight program after being rescued from the streets. Only female dogs were used because they were considered to be anatomically better suited than males for close confinement.
Nov 3, 2017 · Laika in her metal carrier. Credit: TASS. Although Laika's capsule contained a temperature control system and some dog food, this was a one-way, suicide mission when it launched on November 3 ...
