On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched ‘Sputnik 2’ and made history — for carrying the first-ever living creature to orbit the Earth, a dog named Laika.
Who was Laika?
Laika was a stray dog picked up from the streets of Moscow just a week before the launch of Sputnik 2.
The dog was promoted to cosmonaut (a term referring to an astronaut in the Soviet or Russian space program) based on her ‘small’ size and ‘calm’ demeanor.
Animals in Space
Before humans actually went to space, one of the theories was that humans might not be able to survive long periods of weightlessness.
American and Russian scientists utilised animals — mainly monkeys, chimps, and dogs — in order to test each country’s ability to launch a living organism into space and bring it back alive and unharmed.”
Rocket engineers selected the animals most obedient and most tolerant of loud noises and air pressure changes for the experiment.
Before Laika the Soviet Union had launched two dogs named Dezik and Tsygan in 1951.
The United States launched rhesus monkeys, mice, fruit flies, and rats during the second world war.
Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal - a dog.
It was a 4-meter-high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters. It contained several compartments for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained the experimental dog Laika.Laika died on the fourth orbit due to overheating caused by an air conditioning malfunction.
Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months. The mission ended up providing scientists with the first data on the behaviour of a living organism orbiting in the space environment.
Note: Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth.
