Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika.

List of spacecraft called Sputnik

Sputnik is a name for multiple spacecraft launched under the Soviet space program. "Sputnik 1", "Sputnik 2" and "Sputnik 3" were the official Soviet names of those objects, and the remaining designations in the series were not official names but names applied in the West to…

Soviet Union

Country in Eurasia (1922–1991)

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area, extending across eleven time zones and…

Sputnik 2

Second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit (1957)

Sputnik 2, or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2, launched on 3 November 1957, was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, and the first to carry an animal into orbit, a Soviet space dog named Laika.

November 3

Day of the year

November 3 is the 307th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 58 days remain until the end of the year.

Orbit

Curved path of an object around a point

In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a planet, moon, asteroid, or Lagrange…

Soviet space dogs

Soviet-era program that sent dogs to space

During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The Soviet space program typically used female dogs due to their anatomical compatibility with the spacesuit. Similarly,…

Laika

Soviet dog, first animal to orbit Earth (c. 1954–1957)

Laika was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, launched into low orbit on 3 November 1957. As the technology to re-enter the atmosphere…