Laika in orbit (Sputnik 2): first animal in Earth orbit
Laika en órbita (Sputnik 2): primer animal en órbita terrestre
- Date
- 3 de noviembre de 1957 · confidence high
- Place
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan (USSR)
- Credited to
- Soviet space programme (physicians Oleg Gazenko and Vladimir Yazdovsky)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
The dog Laika flew aboard Sputnik 2, a month after Sputnik 1, and was the first animal to orbit the Earth. She died a few hours later from overheating and stress, a fact Moscow concealed until 2002.
The USSR initially claimed Laika lived a week; in 2002 it was revealed she died within hours. The launch was rushed for the 40th anniversary of the Revolution.
What it led to
- proof that a living being could survive launch and weightlessness
- dog flights recovered alive (Belka and Strelka, 1960)
- ethical debate over animal experimentation in space