Sputnik 2
AgencySoviet Union
Year1957
TypeEarth orbit
RocketSputnik rocket
CountryUSSR
About the Mission
Carried Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth, launched just one month after Sputnik 1. The dog was a stray picked from Moscow streets. There was no recovery plan and she died from overheating after a few orbits. The true cause was concealed for decades. The flight proved a living creature could survive launch and weightlessness.
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