Plågades hunden laika
The engineers who sealed Laika into a narrow, windowless Sputnik 2 space capsule on 3 November knew it was the last time they would ever see her. Following the success of Sputnik 1 on 4. With a pounding heart and rapid breath, Laika rode a rocket into Earth orbit, 2, miles above Moscow streets she knew. Overheated, cramped, frightened, and probably hungry, the space dog gave her life for her country, involuntarily fulfilling a canine suicide mission.
Sad as this tale is, the stray husky-spitz mix became a part of history as the first living creature to orbit the Earth. Using what they had learned from the unmanned and undogged Sputnik 1 and often working without blueprints, teams labored quickly to build a ship that included a pressurized compartment for a flying dog. Sputnik 1 had made history, becoming the first man-made object in Earth orbit October 4, They expected Laika to die from oxygen deprivation—a painless death within 15 seconds—after seven days in space.
Cathleen Lewis , the curator of international space programs and spacesuits at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum doubts that a few ounces of food would have made a difference, and she recalls reports that a female physician broke protocol by feeding Laika before liftoff. The Soviet canine recruiters began their quest with a herd of female stray dogs because females were smaller and apparently more docile. Initial tests determined obedience and passivity.
Eventually, canine finalists lived in tiny pressurized capsules for days and then weeks at a time. The doctors also checked their reactions to changes in air pressure and to loud noises that would accompany liftoff. Testers fitted candidates with a sanitation device connected to the pelvic area. The dogs did not like the devices, and to avoid using them, some retained bodily waste, even after consuming laxatives.
However, some adapted. Rumors emerged that Albina had out-performed Laika, but because she had recently given birth to puppies and because she had apparently won the affections of her keepers, Albina did not face a fatal flight. Doctors performed surgery on both dogs, embedding medical devices in their bodies to monitor heart impulses, breathing rates, blood pressure and physical movement. Soviet physicians chose Laika to die, but they were not entirely heartless.
Three days before the scheduled liftoff, Laika entered her constricted travel space that allowed for only a few inches of movement. Newly cleaned, armed with sensors, and fitted with a sanitation device, she wore a spacesuit with metal restraints built-in. On November 3 at a.
The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip Into Orbit
The noises and pressures of flight terrified Laika: Her heartbeat rocketed to triple the normal rate, and her breath rate quadrupled. She reached orbit alive, circling the Earth in about minutes. Unfortunately, loss of the heat shield made the temperature in the capsule rise unexpectedly, taking its toll on Laika. During and after the flight, the Soviet Union kept up the fiction that Laika survived for several days.
The dog that orbited the Earth
Soviet broadcasts claimed that Laika was alive until November The New York Times even reported that she might be saved; however, Soviet communiqués made it clear after nine days that Laika had died. While concerns about animal rights had not reached early 21 st century levels, some protested the deliberate decision to let Laika die because the Soviet Union lacked the technology to return her safely to Earth.
A pack of dog lovers attached protest signs to their pets and marched outside the United Nations in New York. The humane use of animal testing spaceflight was essential to preparation for manned spaceflight, Lewis believes. Alas, for Laika, even if everything had worked perfectly, and if she had been lucky enough to have plenty of food, water and oxygen, she would have died when the spaceship re-entered the atmosphere after 2, orbits.
Ironically, a flight that promised Laika's certain death also offered proof that space was livable. The show "Animating Life" is on view through May 20, Several folk and rock singers around the globe have dedicated songs to her. An English indie-pop group took her name, and a Finnish band called itself Laika and the Cosmonauts. She also would not be the last dog to take flight.
Others returned from orbit alive. After the successful joint flight of Strelka and Belka, Strelka later produced puppies, and Khrushchev gave one to President John F. During the days before manned flight, the United States primarily looked to members of the ape family as test subjects. Also, stray dogs were plentiful in the streets of the Soviet Union—easy to find and unlikely to be missed. This story also now includes updated information about the Portland Oregon Museum's exhibition "Animating Life.
Alice George, Ph. A veteran newspaper editor, she is recently the author of The Last American Hero: The Remarkable Life of John Glenn and has authored or co-authored seven other books, focusing on 20th-century American history or Philadelphia history. Vintageprintable1, Flickr.