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The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, carrying the space dog Laika as the first living creature to enter orbit around Earth.
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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.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)