All that changed, though, because of Khrushchev. The Soviets had boasted that she would have all the comforts she needed to survive and return home safely. ![]() ![]() In the original plan, Laika was to come home. The Soviet propaganda of Laika was a prominent fixture during the Space Race. “This has been done not for the sake of cruelty but for the benefit of humanity.” listverse Liaka on a matchbox. “The Russians love dogs,” they responded in a statement. The Soviets didn’t understand why the rest of the world was so upset. Then, she would be euthanized with poison in her dog food. Laika would spend a few days in orbit above the Earth. They knew that she would not survive the trip home. The satellite they’d built wasn’t equipped for a safe reentry. listverse Laika wasn’t going to come back. During training, Mushka became so terrified that she wouldn’t touch her food. Mushka, like Laika, was a stray, but the hardships of the space program were too much for her. Another dog named Mushka would be used to test the life support. The hardship these mutts endured, they believed, made them tough enough to handle the harsh conditions of space. They had a team that gathered strays off the streets. While the Americans preferred to send monkeys into space, the Soviets found dogs easier to train. Laika was a stray dog wandering the streets of Moscow who was sought out by the Soviet Union to take part in the space program. After about five to seven hours of flight, there were no further signs of life coming from the spacecraft.įive months later, after 2,570 orbits, the Sputnik II, including Laika’s remains, disintegrated upon reentry on April 14, 1958. A malfunction in the separation of the nose cone satellite caused damage to the thermal insulation and temperatures in the cabin reached over 100 degrees F. At peak acceleration, Laika’s heart rate increased to three times her normal rate. Liftoff on November 3, 1957, was in the early hours of dawn. At that time of year, temperatures were very cold and Laika only had a hose connected to a heater to keep her warm. Laika was placed in her launch capsule on October 31, 1957, three days before the start of her mission. She was placed in a centrifuge that simulated the acceleration of a rocket launch as well as placed in a machine that simulated the noises of a spacecraft. To adapt Laika to the confines of the Sputnik II cabin, she was kept in progressively smaller cages for periods of up to 20 days. ![]() Laika’s movement was restricted by a harness and chains that would only allow her to stand up or lay down. The spacecraft was also fitted with a fan designed to activate whenever cabin temperature exceeded 59 degrees F, food to last Laika a week, and a waste collection bag. The craft was equipped with a life-support system consisting of an oxygen generator, devices to avoid oxygen poising as well as a carbon dioxide absorption system. The satellite also contained instruments for measuring solar irradiance and cosmic rays. The official decision to launch Sputnik II was made on October 10, leaving less than four weeks to design and build the spacecraft. ![]() Nikita Khrushchev, then, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, wanted the mission to coincide with the 40 anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution and the launch of the puppy was expedited and rushed. Laiki was launched in the Sputnik II on November 3, 1957. Laika was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |