Laika (Cyrillic: Лайка, "Barker") was one of the Russian space dogs and the first living being to enter orbit, as a passenger on Sputnik 2, a Soviet spacecraft. Some classify her as the first animal to enter space, although animals had entered space during sub-orbital flights on previous missions.

Laika was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow, a female part-Samoyed terrier weighing approximately 6 kg (13 lb). Her name was changed from Kurdrajevskaya (Russian for "Little Curly"), and she was nicknamed Zhuchka ("Little Bug") and Limonchik ("Lemon"). The American press dubbed her Muttnik (a portmanteau of mutt and Sputnik).

Laika died on November 4, 1957, a few hours after launch from stress and overheating. Her true cause of death was not made public until years after the flight, with officials always stating that she was either euthanized by poisoned food or died when the oxygen supply ran out. Russian officials have since expressed regret for allowing Laika to die; to this date, Laika is the only living passenger ever to have been launched into space without the intention of retrieval.

Although Laika did not survive the trip, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. It paved the way for human spaceflight, and provided scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/c/c9/Laika.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika

Moved to History.

Interesting... :salute:

i love dogs :)

Died of overheating early in the flight. Heart attack, I think.

I just saw a movie about a Swedish boy and his early life. The movie
mentioned Laika several times :cool: . The boy thought about the trip and
the dog quite often and he and his friends played like spacemen, trying to
invent a sort of spaceship. :eek: . He thought it wrong to send the dog
into space knowing it would die :mad: :( .

I just saw a movie about a Swedish boy and his early life. The movie
mentioned Laika several times :cool: . The boy thought about the trip and
the dog quite often and he and his friends played like spacemen, trying to
invent a sort of spaceship. :eek: . He thought it wrong to send the dog
into space knowing it would die :mad: :( .

That might be My Life As A Dog...

I've had the DVD for over a year but haven't watched it yet. It might not be the film you mention but it's a Swedish film and has dog in the title. :)

That might be My Life As A Dog...

I've had the DVD for over a year but haven't watched it yet. It might not be the film you mention but it's a Swedish film and has dog in the title. :)


That is the one, very interesting :cool: :scan: . You should watch sometime. ;)

Poor thing. Of course, the dog probably would've just died on the streets of Moscow, but considering Sputnik 2 didn't really accomplish anything, it's a shame.

That is the one, very interesting :cool: :scan: . You should watch sometime. ;)

I think I will. :)

i think i love dogs more than people :)

that boy/dog movie is cool, ive seen it