Tale of Laika the Cosmodog
52 years ago from today, Laika was the first living creature from Earth to enter space.
After the Success of Sputnik, the Soviet scientists wanted to send a manned flight into space but knew next to nothing about its effects. So Sputnik 2 was built with basic life support for a dog.
The dog who would later be named Laika was found as a female stray wandering the streets of Moscow. She was three years old and 6 kg (11 pound) and was sent into training. To adapt the dogs to the confines of the tiny cabin of Sputnik 2, they were kept in progressively smaller cages for periods up to 20 days. The extensive close confinement caused them to stop urinating or defecating, made them restless, and caused their general condition to deteriorate. Laxatives did not improve their condition, and the researchers found that only long periods of training proved effective. The dogs were placed in centrifuges that simulated the acceleration of a rocket launch and were placed in machines that simulated the noises of the spacecraft. This caused their pulses to double and their blood pressure to increase by 30–65 torr. The dogs were trained to eat a special high-nutrition gel that would be their food in space.
Before the launch, one of the scientists took Laika home to play with his children. In a book chronicling the story of Soviet space medicine, Dr. Vladimir Yazdovsky wrote, "I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live."
According to a NASA document, Laika was placed in the satellite on October 31, 1957—three days before the start of the mission.At that time of year the temperatures at the launch site were extremely cold, and a hose connected to a heater was used to keep her container warm. Two assistants were assigned to keep a constant watch on Laika before launch. Just prior to liftoff on November 3, 1957 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Laika's fur was sponged in a weak alcohol solution and carefully groomed, while iodine was painted onto the areas where sensors would be placed to monitor her bodily functions.
At peak acceleration Laika's respiration increased to between three and four times the pre-launch rate.The sensors showed her heart rate was 103 beats/min before launch and increased to 240 beats/min during the early acceleration. After reaching orbit, Sputnik 2's nose cone was jettisoned successfully, however the "Block A" core did not separate as planned, stopping the thermal control system from operating correctly. Some of the thermal insulation tore loose, raising the cabin temperature to 40 °C (104 °F). After three hours of weightlessness, Laika's pulse rate had settled back to 102 beats/min, three times longer than it had taken during earlier ground tests, an indication of the stress she was under. The early telemetry indicated that Laika was agitated but eating her food. After approximately five to seven hours into the flight, no further signs of life were received from the spacecraft.
Over five months later, after 2,570 orbits, Sputnik 2 disintegrated—along with Laika's remains—during re-entry on April 14, 1958.
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I posted this because I love both space exploration advancements and dogs. I think her life is worth remembering because it is similiar to a tragic hero story where she died by powers beyond her control and died scared and alone but for the great benefit of mankind so we shouldn't forget Earth's first cosmonaut.
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Originally Posted by Tiberius Tosi
