The formerly-famous Laika

The rest....of the story

Laika was the first living creature in space. She was sent up by the Soviet Union in Sputnik 2 on November 3rd 1957. Nicknamed "muttnik" by the American press, the world watched as the rocket scientists figured out how to send her up, but neglected to learn how to get her back. She died after a week floating around in space - there are differing explanations for the cause of her death: either she ran out of air, was killed by a poison injection or burnt up re-entering the atmosphere. Laika means "barker" in Russian.

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