03. Has there ever been a dog in space? If so, what kind, what year, and why? (A K2S Question)
From The Space Library
The first dog in space was also the first living thing to go up in space. This was at a time when scientists were still trying to determine if space travel was safe for humans by trying it first on animals. Laika was launched by the Soviet Union in the world's second artificial satellite called Sputnik 2 on November 4, 1957. Laika which means 'Barker' in Russian, was selected as a space dog when she was a stray mongrel wandering through Moscow at the age of three. Laika died during the spaceflight as the technology used then was not as sophisticated as today's. Her spaceflight provided invaluable knowledge to scientists on how living beings react to spaceflight. Prior to Laika, Dezik and Tsygan were the first dogs to make a suborbital flight in 1951, reaching a maximum height 62 miles above ground. Following Laika, a number of dogs were sent up to space by both the Soviet Union and the USA. Some famous Russian space dogs of the early days were: (English translations of the Russian names are shown in parentheses) Laika (Barker) 1957 Bars (Panther or Lynx) 1960 Lisichka (Little Fox) 1960 Belka (Whitey or Squirrel) 1960 Strelka (Little Arrow) 1960 Pchelka (Little Bee) 1960 Mushka (Little Fly) 1960 Chernushka (Blackie) 1961 Zvezdochka (Little Star) 1961 Veterok (Little Wind) 1966 Ugolyok (Little Piece of Coal) 1966 Laika, first living being to be launched into orbit from Earth. Source: http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Sputnik/Sputnik2.htm
Answer provided by Bijal Thakore
Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer
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