Soviet Space Dogs
Check out some pictures of Soviet space dogs at EnglishRussia.com.
A Russian space dog was the first living creature launched into Earth orbit: Laika the dog, aboard Sputnik 2, on 3 November 1957.
Laika was meant from the start to be sacrificed in the name of Science; Sputnik 2 was never meant to return safely to Earth.
Some equipment malfunctions caused overheating inside the Sputnik 2 capsule; the temperature rose to 40 degrees Centigrade, which caused Laika to die four days after being launched into orbit.
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February 23rd, 2007 @ 12:38
There was a really good movie that came out in the late 80’s entitled “My Life as a Dog.” I think it references Laika. It’s a great story and I recommend the film. Space pups have little to do with the film though.
My dog’s always game for a ride in the back of the pick up, but I’d be hard pressed to see her on a rocket. No smells, no wind.
There’s an urban myth that some of the U.S. space chimps are buried in Austin, TX.
February 23rd, 2007 @ 13:20
I have heard of that movie, me being a big fan of artsy-farty subtitled foreign films. On the strength of your recommendation, I will add it to my Netflix queue.
I can’t imagine either of these two dogs I’m taking care of being keen on a Sputnik ride, either.
July 28th, 2009 @ 22:47
I looove that you got your information correct. Too many sites talk about how ‘a malfunction’ is what caused her not to return to earth. I know no one wants to hear the sad truth that she was never meant to, but if we can’t admit our mistakes we can never learn from them and progress as a society. I don’t condemn the Russian space program at all, but we do need to acknowledge that while it might have been a good idea at the time, we now know it wasn’t and that it wasn’t worth her life for the information we learned from the experiment. Keep up the good work.