On November 3, 1957, a carrier rocket was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which put Sputnik-2 into orbit. It was the second spacecraft in human history. Unlike its predecessor, Sputnik-2 was of a much more complex design.
How it was?
Its weight was about half a ton, it looked like a conical capsule of 4 meters in height, contained several compartments for scientific equipment, a radio transmitter, a telemetry system, a software module, a regeneration system and a cabin temperature control.
The main thing was that on "Sputnik-2" there was the first living creature in the world that made an orbital flight - the dog Laika. It should be noted that preparations for the launch of Sputnik-2 were carried out in an extremely intensive mode. The head of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev, assessing the political dividends from the launch of the first satellite, strove to squeeze the maximum out of space successes. That is why the launch of Sputnik-2 was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Laika's flight was supposed to answer the fundamental question - can a living creature survive in the orbit of the planet in a state of weightlessness.
Why Laika?
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When the question arose about which animal was best suited for space exploration, Soviet scientists chose dogs. The reason is simple - the animals are unpretentious, they respond well to training. The Americans chose monkeys in their experiments, but in the USSR they preferred calmer animals (although later Soviet scientists would also use monkeys for flights on biosatellites).
Strictly speaking, Laika was not the first living being in space. Prior to that, in the USSR, geophysical rockets were launched with dogs on board. The rockets reached an altitude of several hundred kilometers, after which the containers with the dogs were dropped by parachute.
So the USSR had its own "dog squad of cosmonauts" even before the flight of the first satellite. But an orbital flight is already a completely different stage of research. A dog weighing no more than 6-7 kg was selected for the flight into orbit (the requirement of the satellite designers). Thoroughbreds were rejected at once, as pampered, unbearable and demanding for food. Among the mongrels, they were looking for white-colored dogs, as this was a requirement of specialists in film and photography. Further, all candidates were tested on centrifuges, vibration stands and other simulators, which would then be passed by human astronauts. As a result, at first 10 dogs were selected, and three reached the final: Albina, Laika and Mukha. The less photogenic Fly became a "technological dog" on which life systems on Earth were tested. Albina by that time twice ascended into space on a geophysical rocket, in addition,she had puppies. They felt sorry for her - the scientists knew that the animal would not return from space. So Laika became a passenger on Sputnik-2, and Albina became an understudy.
How was Laika prepared?
In the last step, all three selected dogs were trained to live in a life support container. Already at Baikonur, Laika was put in a cabin for several hours, where she got used to a feeding trough, wearing sensors, overalls, a sewage system and being in a confined space.
Laika's jumpsuit was attached to the container with small cables. Their length allowed Laika to take a recumbent, sitting position, as well as to move a little back and forth. In the lower third of the cables there were contact-rheostat sensors, the purpose of which was to register motor activity.
Before the flight, Laika underwent surgery, during which breathing sensors were installed on the ribs and a pulse sensor near the carotid artery. A few hours before the start, the dog was placed in a pressurized cabin on the satellite. However, an hour before the start, engineers and biologists violated the established rules: during the last checks, the cabin was opened and Laika was given a drink. Her container had a water supply system, but people wanted to do something for the dog that flew away forever.
How did the dog die?
The fact that Laika would die was known from the beginning. In 1957, there were no systems to return spaceships to Earth. The very creation of such devices would make sense only if Laika's flight proved the possibility of survival of a living creature in orbit in zero gravity. The life support system allowed Laika to live for 7 days. She safely transferred the launch into orbit, which was confirmed by telemetry indicators. However, the dog lived only 4 turns. The imperfection of technology let down - due to errors in the calculations, the satellite cabin began to overheat, and Laika died. In the USSR, they did not report the death of the animal for another 7 days, then stating that the dog was euthanized in connection with the completion of the life support system.
How did the world react to Laika's flight?
As in the case of the first companion, the world mingled admiration with horror, and even indignation. Animal welfare organizations considered the "suicide dog flight" barbaric. The New York Times called Laika "the loneliest and miserable dog in the world." Some in the West suggested that the USSR should launch Nikita Khrushchev into space instead of the dog. But all were gagged by housewives from the American state of Mississippi. Their collective letter to the UN was full of compassion for the dog, and ended with the phrase: "If for the development of science it is necessary to send living beings into space, in our city there are as many little indians as you like."
What is the meaning of flight?
Laika did not die in vain. Her flight proved that living things can successfully endure orbital flights. Thus, Laika opened the way to space for people. Three years after Laika's flight, the dogs Belka and Strelka will become the first living beings to return safely from orbit.
In 2008, on the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine in Moscow, where Laika's flight was being prepared, a monument to the dog was unveiled. The two-meter monument is a space rocket passing into the palm, on which Laika is proudly standing - a small mongrel who opened a large road into space.
Author: zaCCCPanec
