Dog history I: cosmonaut Laika

Laika lived for only about three years (*1954 - ✝1957) and as the first living creature from our planet, it got to the orbit of the Earth.

This historic event took place on the 3rd of November 1957. She was transported there by the Soviet satellite called Sputnik 2. The reason for its flight was the fact that at that time, only little had been known about the effect of cosmic environment on a living organism. Which implies, that flights into space with human crew had to be preceded by sending of animals.

However, she wasn’t the first dog that visited space. Border of outer space, that is 100 km above the Earth, had been crossed before her by the dog pair Dezik and Cygan. Those were sent in 1951 from a spaceport on a ballistic route to the height of 101 km.

Laika’s original name (literally translated as Barker) was Kudriavka (literally Ringlet). She got even many other names, but she became famous under this one, which, by the way, is the name of a breed of hunting dogs from northern Russia and Siberia.

She was a little two to three-year-old tramp from Moscow, a crossbreed weighing only 6 kg. The scientists presumed that stray dogs would be used to tough life and that’s why they would be better at withstanding both the training, but also the task.

The training itself took place by gradual adaptation to a tight cabin, where it was possible only to sit, stand or lie down, to turn around was impossible. She was also being prepared for the overload in a centrifuge, for the noise upon launch and special mushy food designated for the journey.

Laika’s launch took place without any trouble. Only after the release of the satellite from the rocket, an issue came up: the satellite remained connected with the last degree of the carrying rocket. This resulted in malfunction of the temperature regulation system. Even though Laika was agitated, her pulse returned back to normal on the orbit and she even had something to eat.

However, her return to the Earth wasn’t planned, such technology wasn’t developed at that time. She had food for seven days with her and then, she was allegedly supposed to be killed by a programmed injection. Her life was, however, much shorter. She survived only several hours on the orbit. After five to seven hours, she showed no signs of life. The cause of her death remains unclear, the Soviet Union would release contradictory statements in the following years. There were claims that she died due to overheating, due to a lack of oxygen after the batteries malfunctioned, even that she was killed according to plan.

Western animal rights advocates criticised the sending of Laika to death. Other flights of dogs to the orbit were then planned with a re-entry, within the scope of preparations for the flight of the human. Since owing to Laika, it has been proven, that a living creature will survive an ascent to space and even a longer stay on the orbit in a state of zero-gravity.

In the Star City, where Russian cosmonauts get ready for a flight, Laika has a memorial. Another one was built in 2008 on the grounds of the Institute of Military Medicine in Moscow. Laika also appeared on numerous post stamps across the whole world. Her story is being continuously remembered, a comics was made about her, her name appears in songs and in band names. It may not atone for her faith, but it might at least honour her memory.