Sending animals into space 1957. First rocket flights with dogs. Preparing astronaut dogs for flight
The astronaut dog Laika is being prepared for a flight on the second artificial satellite of the Earth. A still from the documentary “Soviets in Space.” Photo: RIA Novosti
How it was?
On November 3, 1957, a launch vehicle was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, putting Sputnik 2 into orbit. This was the second spacecraft in human history. Unlike its predecessor, Sputnik 2 was a much more complex design. Its weight was about half a ton, it looked like a conical capsule 4 meters high, contained several compartments for scientific equipment, a radio transmitter, a telemetry system, a software module, a regeneration system and cabin temperature control.
The main thing was that Sputnik 2 carried the first living creature in the world to make 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. Head of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev, having appreciated the political dividends from the launch of the first satellite, sought 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 a planet in a state of weightlessness.
Why Laika?
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 and amenable to training. The Americans chose monkeys in their experiments, but the USSR preferred calmer animals (although later Soviet scientists would also use monkeys to fly on biosatellites).
Strictly speaking, Laika was not the first living creature in space. Before this, the USSR launched geophysical rockets with dogs on board. The rockets reached an altitude of several hundred kilometers, after which the containers with the dogs were lowered by parachute.
So the USSR had its own “dog squad of cosmonauts” even before the flight of the first satellite. But orbital flight is a completely different stage of research. For the flight into orbit, a dog weighing no more than 6-7 kg was selected (the requirement of the satellite designers). Thoroughbreds were immediately rejected as pampered, intolerant and demanding of food. Among the mongrels, they looked for white dogs, as this was the requirement of film and photography specialists. Then all the candidates were tested on centrifuges, vibration stands and other simulators, which human cosmonauts will then undergo. As a result, 10 dogs were initially selected, and three reached the finals: Albina, Laika and Mukha. The less photogenic Fly became a “technological dog” on which life systems on Earth were tested. By that time, Albina had twice ascended into space on a geophysical rocket, and in addition, she gave birth to puppies. They felt sorry for her - scientists knew that the animal would not return from space. So Laika became the passenger of Sputnik 2, and Albina turned out to be a backup.
How was Laika prepared?
At the last stage, all three selected dogs were accustomed to life in a life support container. Already at Baikonur, Laika was put in a cabin for several hours, where she got used to the feeding trough, wearing sensors, overalls, a sewage disposal device and being in a confined space. Laika's overalls were attached to the container with small cables. Their length allowed Laika to take a lying or sitting position, as well as move a little back and forth. In the lower third of the cables there were contact-rheostatic sensors, the purpose of which was to record motor activity. Before the flight, Laika underwent surgery, during which breathing sensors were installed on her ribs and a pulse sensor near the carotid artery. A few hours before launch, the dog was placed in a sealed cabin on the satellite. However, an hour before the launch, engineers and biologists violated the established rules: during the last checks, the cabin was opened and Laika was given something to drink. Her container had a water supply system, but people wanted to do something for the dog who was flying away forever.
How did the dog die?
It was known from the beginning that Laika would die. In 1957, there were no systems to return spacecraft 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 conditions of weightlessness. The life support system allowed Laika to live for 7 days. It successfully transferred the launch into orbit, which was confirmed by telemetry data. However, the dog lived only 4 orbits. The imperfection of the technology failed - due to errors in the calculations, the satellite cabin began to overheat, and Laika died. The USSR did not report the death of the animal for another 7 days, then stating that the dog was euthanized due to the end of the life support system.
How did the world react to Laika's flight?
As in the case of the first satellite, the world's admiration was mixed with horror, and even indignation. Animal protection organizations considered the “suicide dog flight” barbaric. The New York Times called Laika "the loneliest and most unhappy dog in the world." Some in the West suggested that the USSR launch Nikita Khrushchev into space instead of the dog. But housewives from the American state of Mississippi outshone everyone. 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 black children as possible for this.”
What is the meaning of flight?
Laika did not die in vain. Her flight proved that living beings can successfully survive 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 creatures to return safely from orbit. In 2008, a monument to the dog was unveiled on the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine in Moscow, where Laika’s flight was being prepared. The two-meter-tall monument represents a space rocket, turning into a palm, on which Laika, the little mongrel who opened the big road to space, proudly stands.
Experiments on launching living beings into space began long before Laika’s flight. In 1947, in the USA, with the help of a captured German V-2 rocket, a container with fruit flies and plant seeds was raised to an altitude of more than 100 km. They studied how cosmic radiation affects living organisms. The container was successfully lowered by parachute. It's the turn of the mammals.
In 1948-1949, four primates were launched into space using the V-2 in the United States.
At the same time, one of them died from suffocation at an altitude of 60 km, the other’s rocket exploded at an altitude of only 4 km. Two climbed to an altitude of more than 130 km, but died when the parachute system failed.
In 1951-1952, launches continued, this time using the Aerobee geophysical rocket, which was in service with the US Air Force.
Two out of three launches were finally successful - the monkeys returned alive.
In the USSR, researchers chose dogs for similar experiments - they were better trained. Over time, the advantage began to be given to the females: they did not raise their legs when urinating, so it was easier to adapt a sewage disposal device to them.
On July 22, 1951, the B-1B geophysical rocket launched from the Kapustin Yar test site, sending the dogs Dezik and Tsygan into the upper atmosphere.
The rocket rose to a height of more than 100 km, and the container with the animals landed safely on the ground. The USSR was only a couple of months ahead of the United States - their first successful flight of a monkey took place on September 20, 1951.
After that, more than a dozen more dog launches into space took place in the USSR. The dogs flew in pairs - when they saw each other, they felt more comfortable. Not all launches were successful; almost half of the animals eventually died due to technical flaws and accidents.
However, all this time we were talking only about suborbital flights.
The first highly organized creature to orbit the Earth on an artificial satellite was the dog Laika.
The design of the satellite implied a dog weight limit of 6-7 kg. Candidates were chosen among outbred dogs found in kennels - purebred dogs were not hardy enough and were too demanding of food. In addition, the dog had to have light hair - film equipment experts argued that they looked better on camera.
In addition to Laika, Albina, who has already flown on rockets twice, and Mukha, a newcomer, like Laika, were vying for the title of the first cosmonaut dog. Albina, who served science, was pitied by the researchers, and Mukha, due to the slight curvature of her paws, which would look bad in photographs, was used as a “technological dog” - they checked the operation of the equipment on her before the start.
In the satellite cabin there was a feeding apparatus and an air regeneration device designed for seven days. The design did not provide for Laika's return to Earth.
“For me, the main thing was to provide everything for the future flight of man. You have to train, you have to sacrifice something,” Doctor of Medical Sciences Adilya Kotovskaya, head of the laboratory at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, who participated in preparing animals for flights, recalled in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
“But before Laika’s flight, even I cried.” Everyone knew in advance that she would die, and asked her forgiveness. Then the technology did not allow us to return from space...”
Before the flight, Laika underwent surgery - breathing sensors were installed on her ribs and a pulse sensor at the carotid artery. On October 31st, the dog was prepared for boarding and placed in a sealed chamber. At night it was installed on the rocket.
In the first minutes of the flight, Laika’s breathing rate and pulse jumped three times. But gradually the body adapted to weightlessness, and all physiological parameters returned to normal. This was the main result: a highly organized living creature was able to survive in orbital space flight.
However, the joy was short-lived. Due to errors in calculations, within a few hours the temperature in the cabin rose to 40°C. A dog that was supposed to spend a week in space died from overheating after completing four orbits around the Earth.
It was decided not to disclose information about the death of the dog. For another week, the USSR transmitted information about her well-being, then it was reported that Laika had been euthanized.
In the Western press, Laika was called “the shaggiest, loneliest, most unfortunate dog in the world.” Nevertheless, during the time the dog was alive, scientists were able to obtain valuable data on the effects of weightlessness on a living organism.
“The launch itself and the receipt of... information is all very cool,” wrote Soviet physiologist Oleg Gazenko. - But when you understand that you can’t bring this Laika back, that she’s dying there, and that you can’t do anything, and that no one, not just me, no one can bring her back, because there’s no system for returning, this is some kind of very heavy feeling.
Do you know? When I returned to Moscow from the cosmodrome, and for some time there was still jubilation: speeches on the radio, in newspapers, I left the city. Do you understand? I wanted some privacy.”
Despite her death, Laika proved that it is possible to survive in space for more than a few hours.
This information served as a powerful impetus for subsequent research and launches, which paved the way for an epoch-making event - the launch of humans into space.
Animals were sent into space in the future. It wasn't just dogs or monkeys - for example, France launched a cat into suborbital flight in 1968. In the same year, as part of the “lunar program” in the USSR, two turtles, fruit flies, beetles and several plants went into space. In the 1990s, China sent rats and guinea pigs into orbit. Around the same time, quails were sent to the Mir orbital station.
In 2007, the first “space” animals were born - 33 descendants of the Nadezhda cockroach, conceived on the Foton M-3 satellite. And in 2013, geckos were in orbit along with microbes, snails, mollusks and Mongolian gerbils.
The launch of Sputnik-2 into Earth orbit was a breakthrough for mankind in space exploration. This experiment proved that living beings can survive in conditions of weightlessness. It wouldn't have happened without the little mongrel. It was Laika, the dog-cosmonaut, who was the hero who once again established the scientific power of the Soviet Union. November 3, 1957 went down in world history as both a significant event for science and a tragic event for the tiny creature.
How the dog Laika became an astronaut
The honorary role of the first living cosmonaut was given to a mongrel from the shelter named Laika. She was chosen just 12 days before the flight. Before she was approved for this “position,” other mammals were considered as possible candidates: rats, mice and even monkeys. But in the end they settled on dogs.
This choice was not made by chance. Firstly, the success of the experiment required this. Four-legged pets were highly trainable, behaved calmly, and would not disrupt sensors and necessary equipment, as primates could do. And, secondly, the image of the hero dog fit perfectly into the subsequent propaganda and PR program of the Soviet Union. It was believed that she would be perfect for promoting a heroic breakthrough in the media.
The weight of the animal should not exceed 7 kg due to technical requirements. And experts in photography and film equipment recommended choosing a white dog so that it would look impressive in the photographs.
First, 10 future astronaut dogs were selected. And only “nobles” and bitches. Males were not suitable due to the difficulty in making sewage clothing. And purebred animals were immediately dismissed as pets with poor health, weak psyche, intolerant and whimsical eaters.
Dogs began to be trained for space “procedures” at the Air Force Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine. Under the leadership of Vladimir Yazdovsky, they were trained in a centrifuge and a pressure chamber, accustomed to an automatic feeder and a long stay in a small cabin.
Three reached the finals: Mukha, Albina and Laika. The first was rejected due to the congenital curvature of the paws and left for technical ground tests. They felt sorry for Albina - she was expecting puppies. Therefore, they decided to send the dog Laika into orbit. At the time of the experiment she was less than 2 years old.
Preparing astronaut dogs for flight
It all started long before the birth of the dog Laika, in 1948. Then designer Sergei Korolev initiated work to determine the reaction of a living creature to the conditions of a rocket flight.
The first experiments were carried out at the Kapustin Yar test site. Rockets of the so-called “academic” or “geophysical” type were used. They were launched vertically to a certain height, their head parts with the animals in them were separated and landed by parachute. A total of 6 launches were made, most of them unsuccessful. Four astronaut dogs died during the flight.
In addition to dogs, other mammals (mice, guinea pigs, rats), flies, plants (mushrooms, wheat sprouts, corn, onions, peas) and even bacteria took part in flights.
But all the rockets did not leave orbit. The maximum altitude to which they were launched was 450 km. Therefore, the effects of weightlessness on living beings were still unknown.
The first spacecraft, Sputnik 1, was successfully launched on October 4, 1957. The authorities wanted to consolidate their triumph. Moreover, the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution was approaching.
Therefore, all work was carried out in a hurry. There were not even models or drawings; Sputnik 2 was assembled almost on the knee. The training of astronaut dogs was also hastily carried out. Nobody thought about their return. The main question was just one: how long the animal could live on the ship.
The pressurized cabin of Sputnik 2 was made in the shape of a cylinder with a curved bottom. Especially for the dog Laika, it was equipped with a life support system: an automatic feeder that supplied a jelly-like nutritional mixture, sensors for taking physiological indicators and an air conditioning system designed for 7 days of operation.
Shortly before the launch of the satellite, Laika, the first astronaut dog, underwent surgery. Breathing sensors were installed on the ribs, and a pulse sensor was installed near the carotid artery.
They also produced a special suit with motion sensors. It was equipped with a container for collecting feces and was attached to the container with cables. The dog Laika could sit, lie down and even move back and forth a little.
In space
Laika's flight was scheduled for half past five in the morning on November 3, 1957. Preparations for landing on the satellite began a few days in advance - on October 31. The astronaut dog's skin was treated with diluted alcohol, and the exit points of the wires from the sensors were treated with iodine.
The day before, the dog Laika was put in a cell. In the first hour of the night it was installed on the satellite. However, shortly before the launch, the chamber was depressurized at the request of the medical staff: it seemed to the veterinarians that the animal was thirsty.
Perhaps the last requirement was dictated not by the thirst of the astronaut dog, but by human feelings. All the specialists who participated in the experiment understood that the animal would not return and tried to somehow decorate the last moments of its life. For example, Vladimir Yazdovsky, shortly before the flight, took his dog Laika to his home so that she could play with the children. So he wanted to do something nice for the pet.
The launch started successfully. Telemetric data indicated a threefold overload, but there were no pathological abnormalities in the heartbeat of Laika, the first cosmonaut dog. Afterwards, her pulse returned to normal, and it was clear that she was even moving a little. But after a few hours everything changed.
Death of the dog Laika
It was originally planned that Laika, the first astronaut dog launched into Earth orbit, would live for about a week. But due to errors in calculating the area of the spacecraft and the lack of temperature control necessary for the life support system, she died from overheating 5-7 hours after launch.
On Sputnik 2, the dog Laika made 4 orbits around the Earth. The ship itself circled the planet 2,370 times before burning up in the atmosphere in mid-April 1958.
It is noteworthy that the expert commission did not believe in the possibility of an error and forced the experiment to be repeated 2 more times, but this time under conditions on Earth. Both times it ended fatally: the astronaut dogs in the chambers died.
Public response
Laika's flight was received with great resonance by the Western, not the Soviet, press. While foreign media focused on the fate of the cosmonaut dog, TASS only dryly reported on the technical side of the experiment, only at the end devoting a couple of lines about the animal on board.
Moreover, they decided not to inform the public that the dog Laika would not return. For another 7 days after her death, periodicals reported with reports on the pet’s well-being. And on the 8th day they reported that Laika was supposedly euthanized, as planned.
Even this sweetened lie shook up society. Indignant letters about cruelty to animals poured into the Kremlin. They even proposed launching the then First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Nikita Khrushchev, into space instead of the dog Laika.
The death of Laika caused an even greater public outcry in the West. The New York Times published an article with the phrase: “The shaggiest, loneliest, most unfortunate dog in the world.” Subsequently, she became winged.
Foreign animal protection organizations nicknamed Khrushchev a “soulless Soviet knacker.” Protests broke out to stop animal experimentation.
When the first outrage subsided, the anger of the citizens of the USSR was replaced by demands for justice. The Kremlin was again inundated with letters. But with requests to award the dog Laika the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union and a military rank.
Instead, the government decided to make a brand out of the dog Laika. We launched the production of cigarettes of the same name. They wanted to produce ice cream, processed cheese and candy under the same brand. But after reasonable reflection, we realized that this would be too much.
At the same time, educational hours were held in schools. At them, children were told that the death of one dog, Laika, was nothing compared to a scientific breakthrough. And space exploration is one of the main government tasks. They also emphasized that thanks to his feat, the unknown mongrel became a national hero.
The role of the dog Laika for science and its mark on culture
Despite the tragedy of the story, the death of the first astronaut dog was not in vain. Laika's flight proved that living beings can survive in zero gravity. The experiment also allowed us to refine the spacecraft. The next launch ended in triumph: the dogs Belka and Strelka returned to Earth alive.
They haven't forgotten about the heroic mongrel. On the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine, where the experiment was carried out, a two-meter monument was erected in 2008. The sculpture depicts a space rocket turning into a palm on which the dog Laika stands.
Another monument is installed in the Greek Museum of Homo Sapiens. It is located next to monuments dedicated to other cosmonauts: Yuri Gagarin, the Apollo, Soyuz, Shuttle crews and Neil Armstrong.
The feat of the first astronaut dog was reflected in culture. Laika is mentioned in films, animated series and anime; songs and entire albums have been dedicated to it. Musical groups were even named after her.
The dog Laika paved the way for people into space
“The first great step of humanity is to fly out of the atmosphere and become a satellite of the Earth. The rest is relatively easy, up to the distance from our solar system.”, wrote Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. This was truly a great step - in order to accomplish it, it was necessary to overcome many “obstacles and slingshots” of various kinds, to solve a lot of different problems, many of which arose for the first time in the history of the development of science and technology. But the first, most important question that had to be resolved was whether man could exist in space? How will he endure the effects of space flight factors (weightlessness, overloads, noise, vibrations, limited mobility, isolation, existence in a confined limited space, etc.). How can you find out about this without sending a person into space?
At the end of 1948, on the initiative of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, work began to determine the reactions of a highly organized living being to the effects of rocket flight conditions. After much discussion, it was decided that the “biological object” of the research would be a dog. A State Commission was created for organizing and conducting animal flights on rockets, the chairman of which, on the recommendation of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov, was Academician Anatoly Arkadyevich Blagonravov.
Research was carried out at the Kapustin Yar test site during the launches of so-called “geophysical” or “academic” missiles (“scientific” modifications of the first Soviet ballistic missiles). The first flights with dogs were carried out on the R-1A rocket (“Annushka”, as it was called at the test site). A container with animals and scientific instruments was placed in the head of the rocket, which was separated and lowered by parachute. Subsequently, modifications of the R-2 and R-5 missiles were used, the maximum lift altitude was 470 km.
On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 entered low-Earth orbit. Together with him, the first warm-blooded animal, the dog Laika, ended up beyond the boundaries of the earth’s atmosphere, which began the era of space travel with a crew on board. The purpose of this launch was “to determine the very possibility of living beings staying at altitudes of up to 100-110 km after throwing them there using rockets, subsequent ejection and parachute descent.” Despite the fact that the dog lived in orbit for only a few hours (she died from overheating and increased stress), her stay in space confirmed that living organisms are able to withstand conditions of weightlessness. Sputnik 2 orbited the Earth 2,570 times and burned up in the atmosphere on April 4, 1958.
The English Society for the Protection of Animals sent a protest to Khrushchev against cruelty to animals. It was especially difficult for those people who prepared Laika for the flight, fed her, played with her, walked her... The dog loved them and trusted them unconditionally - and they sent her to a painful death. What can you do - they didn’t yet know how to land spacecraft on Earth. We could only console ourselves with the fact that the obtained medical and biological data provided invaluable material for preparing the human body for space flight.
Monument to Laika on the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine
Latitude: 55.75, Longitude: 37.62 Time zone: Europe/Moscow (UTC+03:00) Moon phase calculation for 11/1/1957 (12:00) To calculate the phase of the moon for your city, register or log in.
Characteristics of the Moon on November 3, 1957
On the date 03.11.1957 V 12:00 The moon is in phase "Waxing Crescent". This 11th lunar day in the lunar calendar. Moon in zodiac sign Pisces ♓. Illumination percentage Moon is 84%. Sunrise Moon at 15:07, and sunset at 02:52.
Chronology of lunar days
- 11th lunar day from 14:49 02.11.1957 to 15:07 03.11.1957
- 12th lunar day from 15:07 03.11.1957 until the next day
Moon influence November 3, 1957
Moon in the zodiac sign Pisces (±)
Moon in a sign Fish. The ability for mental concentration is somewhat weakened, the imagination every now and then strives to captivate our consciousness into the world of illusions, so any business that requires specifics has difficulty finding its embodiment in reality.
It is better to spend this time on active recreation, an exciting trip, or devote yourself to art. True, legal issues or matters related to investing money proceed without any particular complications.
11th lunar day (+)
November 3, 1957 at 12:00 - 11th lunar day. One of the most positive and energetically powerful days of the lunar month. The implementation of any plans and plans will lead to the desired results with the least amount of effort on your part. You can safely go on a long journey.
Waxing Moon (±)
The moon is in phase Waxing Crescent. The second lunar phase is the interval between the first lunar quarter and the full moon. During this period, the active growth of the Moon continues. The second phase is characterized by an even more significant increase in energy and internal forces, and strongly expressed activity.
In the business sphere, a favorable time begins for carrying out planned activities, solving difficult issues and problems. Things that require a lot of activity will not be difficult.
During the second lunar phase, physical activity can be useful; it is during this period that it is good to start new workouts. Changes in absolutely all areas of activity are favorable, both in relationships on a personal level and in business.
Not a bad time to move, travel, change your activity. Life energy gathers more and more and closer to the full moon its peak is noted. This period is characterized by emotional outbursts, increasingly frequent conflicts, and the emergence of traumatic situations.
Day of week influence (±)
Day of the week - Sunday, this day walks under the Sun, because it is permeated with its cheerful, invigorating energy and imparts good power to people.
Since ancient times, Sunday has been reserved for rest, for work not of the body, but of the spirit. And people communicate with each other with pleasure, meet to spend time in conversations, games, and pleasures. This is a day of Sunday festivities, going to visit at the call of the soul, which straightens up after a week of fatigue and work, washed by friendly participation and unity. Sunday is for light work, not hard work.
