Sputnik 2 was the second artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union, and the first spacecraft to carry an animal into orbit, a dog named Laika. It was launched about a month after Sputnik 1, in a rush to mark the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, and its design was assembled in a few weeks. The capsule had no means of returning to Earth, so the mission was always planned to end in Laika's death. The Soviet authorities said at first that she lived for several days, but it was revealed decades later that she died within hours from overheating and stress. The flight showed that a living creature could survive launch and weightlessness, and it led to debates on animal welfare in research.
Before and after
- from 4 October 1957 to 1 July 1975Space race
- 4 October 1957Launch of Sputnik 1
- 23 October 1957Birth of Paul Kagame
- from 23 October 1957 to 30 June 1958Ifni War
- 3 November 1957Launch of Sputnik 2
- 4 November 1957Birth of Tony Abbott
- 15 November 1957First flight of Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya
- 24 December 1957Birth of Hamid Karzai
- 1958Identification of Burkitt lymphoma
More in Universe & space
- 22 June 1978Discovery of Charon
- 24 April 1990Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 20 November 1998Launch of International Space Station
- 10 April 2019The first image of a black hole
- 25 December 2021Launch of James Webb Space Telescope
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.