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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: 3 Nov 1957 - --The *real* 1st astronaut

http://images.google.com/images?q=Laika … l=en]Laika

*Nice photos of the Russian dog carried aloft in Sputnik 2.  How fitting that Man's Best Friend preceded us in space (even if she didn't have a choice in the matter).  A pity they didn't have the technology to bring her back alive (yes, I've known previously that was her fate).    Rest in peace, sweetheart.

On November 3, 1957 the Russian Space Program launched its first "live" astronaut into space - Laika. Carried on board Sputnik 2, our canine hero was the first living creature to reach orbit. The quickly developed Sputnik 2 was designed with sensors to transmit ambient pressure, breathing patterns and heartbeat of its passenger along with a television camera monitor. The craft also monitored ultraviolet and x-ray radiation as well to further study the impact of space flight upon human occupants. Unfortunately, the technology of the time offered no way to return Laika to Earth, so she perished in space. On April 14, 1958, Laika and Sputnik 2 returned to Earth in a fiery re-entry ending after 2,570 orbits.

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 2004]Quote above from this article

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)