In 2008 a monument for Laika was erected in Moscow where she stands proudly on a rocket. But in 2002 the true story came out: she died within hours of launch from panic and overheating in temperatures of about 40 degrees C. Read more: This photo an astronaut took of South Africa from space will take your breath awayĪt the time the Soviet Union claimed that after four days, just before her oxygen would run out, Laika was put to sleep and passed away peacefully. Everyone knew Laika would die during the flight – it was all arranged so quickly engineers didn’t have time to design a system that could bring her back safely.Īcross the world people were furious with the Soviets for sacrificing the little dog, who in American had been nicknamed Muttnik. She was secured with a harness which allowed her some movement, she had access to food and water and a bag was attached to collect her waste.Įlectrodes were attached to her body which transmitted information about her heart rate, blood pressure and breathing back to Earth. Below is the enclosure in which Laika travelled, The sphere on top is the satellite that Sputnik deployed. On 3 November 1957 Laika, who weighed about 6 kg, was transported into space in her own sealed cabin in the spacecraft Sputnik 2. She was found on the streets about a week before she was due to lift off and was trained quickly – for instance, she had to learn to eat her gel-like food in space. Laika was not the first dog in space, but she was the first dog to orbit (circle) Earth. So they decided to first send animals into space to test flight safety. Long may the the “little curly one” be remembered.Read more: Beam me up, Scotty! Gateway to Space: The Exhibition is finally here – see the pics AFIAK, that only happened to people (i.e., Columbia).Īnyway, here’s to Laika, the first space adventurer from our pale blue dot. Unpleasant, but a very far cry from being burned on re-entry. The dog died of hyperthermia a few hours after launch it would have suffered heat exhaustion and dizziness, it would have passed out and then suffered organ failure. Laika “won” the role after a period of training in competition with two others. This was 1957 of course – dogs were still being cut up for insulin. Given that there was dispute at the time whether humans could survive the launch or environs of outer space it is not surprising that a non-human mammal was tested prior to sending people themselves. Albeit with artistic license, the prior life of said cosmonaut is even plausible Laika was historically found as a stray in the streets of Moscow. The Sputnik 2 is accurate, and the dog has a great deal of similarity to Laika is plausible. The haunting vocals are by Ane Trolle.Ĭredit is due to Trentemøller and Trolle for the music, lyrics, singing and especially the very impressive reconstructive video. Remember Laika as you watch this video tribute by Danish electronic musician, Anders Trentemøller. In their haste to win the Space Race, the Russians had never designed for her return to Earth anyway. She perished after only a few hours in orbit when the thermal control systems failed and the capsule overheated. In 1957, Laika became the first living creature to orbit the Earth, when Soviet scientists launched the small dog into orbit aboard a hastily built Sputnik II space capsule. It sits near the military research facility that prepared Laika’s flight. It’s about 6 feet tall and sports the 2-year-old mixed breed atop a rocket. Officials unveiled the monument on April 11 in Moscow on the eve of Cosmonautics Day, which honors the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin. She was the first earthling in space, and now Laika the Russian street stray is immortalized in bronze, 50 years after her historic, sacrificial flight.
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