Animal Astronauts. Russian Space dogs (Orbital Flights).
On June 2, 2005 Russian people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Cosmodrom Baykonour. From this cosmodrom was launched first space satellite. That first satellite, called ’’Sputnik 1’’ was spherical in shape with four antennas about 8 or 9 feet in length, 23 inches in diameter and weighed 183,4 pounds. It circled the globe every 96 minutes at a speed of 18000 miles per hour (near 28800 km/h) for 92 days until the 4th of January when it re-entered the atmosphere and burned up.
’’Sputnik 1’’ and the first following Russian space ships were designed by Sergey Pavlovich Korolev – a great Soviet designer of guided missels, rockets and spacecraft.
Korolev’s work led to the Soviet Union’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).He directed system engineering for Soviet launch vehicles and spacecraft, including design, testing, construction and launching of manned and unmanned spacecraft and was the guiding genius behind the Soviet spaceflight programme.
The European Space Agency’s Arianespace launch company plans to blast 50 satellites to space on one rocket in 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first-ever space satellite. The most important for living creature satellite, called ’’Sputnik 2’’ was also launched from Baykonour. During the 1950s and 1960s the Russian Space Agency used a number of dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The first men and women who travelled in space in the 1960s- depended on the sacrifices of other animals that gave their lives for the advancement of human knowledge about the conditions in outer space beyond this planet’s protective ozone layer, about the effects of weightlessness on living organisms and about the effects of stress on behaviour. Near the end of the 1950s, the USSR was preparing to send a dog into orbit above Earth. The Soviets used nine so-called Space dogs to test spacesuits in the unpressurized cabins of spaceflight capsules. Scientists in the Soviet Union were sure that organisms from Earth could live in space. To demonstrate that,they sent the world’s second artificial space satellite-Sputnik 2-to space from Baykonour Cosmodrome on November 3,1957.
On board was a live mongrel dog, named Laika. Let us face the truth: It is Russian dog Laika paved the space travel highway and made it safe for humans to past the Earth’s atmosphere.
Laika.
Born:1954 (?)
Birthplace: Russia
Death: (?) November 1957
Best known as: The first dog to orbit the Earth.
Laika was a space pioneer. Also, she was the first-ever living creature, launched into space, carried on board of the Russian satellite ’’Sputnik 2’’,(thirty days after the first successful satellite launch of ’’Sputnik 1’’). By the way, Laika first said ’’Hello’’ to the people of Earth on a radio broadcast October 27, a week before her historic flight. She barked into the microphone. In Russian Laika means ’’Barker’’ or originally named ’’Kudryavka’’ (Little curly).She was also known as Zhuchka (Little bug) and Limonchik (Little lemon). The American media dubbed her ’’Muttnik’’. Just think: Laika had been a stray dog – mostly a Siberian husky and around three years old – rounded up from the Moscow streets and trained for spaceflight.
Laika was supported inside the satellite by a harness that allowed some movement and access to food and water. Electrodes transmitted vital sighs including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing rate.
After reaching orbit the nose cone was jettisoned successfully but the block A core didn’t separate as planned, preventing the thermal control system from operating correctly. Some of the thermal insulation also tore loose. Laika’s spacecraft had life support systems, padded walls and was outfitted with scientific gauges, but wasn’t designed for recovery. You will ask:’’Why?’’ All because soon, after ’’Sputnik 1’’ triumph Nikita Khruschev – the Soviet leader at that time at one reception made the suggestion that another Sputnik be launched to mark 40th anniversary of the Great October Revolution celebrated on November 7.
At the time Korolev had a sophisticated research satellite in the works.
However, it couldn’t possibly be ready for take off before December 1957. During work on the second satellite all traditions developed in rocket technology were thrown out, that’s why satellite wasn’t designed for recovery. The Soviets admitted soon after the launch that spacecraft wouldn’t return, meaning that the animal was doomed from the start.
There are many hypotesis about time of Laika’s death. Recently, several Russian sources revealed that Laika survived in Orbit for four days and then died when cabin overheated (the temperature in the cabin rose to 40 degrees celcium or 104 F). Some experts think that Laika died of shock soon after start. Oleg Gazenko is one of the lead scientists of the Soviet animals-in-space program, he said:” The more time passes, the more I’m sorry about it. We shouldn’t have done it… We didn’t learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog.” Laika became one of the most famous dogs in the world. Laika again captures hearts of people, with the monument to her erected 50 years after her spaceflight by the Russians to honour fallen cosmonauts at Star City outside Moscow. The likeness of Laika can be seen peeping out from behind the cosmonauts in the monument. Laika is also remembered on a plague at the Moscow research center where she was trained. On March 9, 2005 a patch of soil on Mars was unofficially named ”Laika” by mission controllers, it is located near Vostok Crater in Meridiani Planum. It was examined by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity’s microscope imager on Sol 400. Laika has been pictured on several postage stamps in different countries. A lot of references commemorate us about Laika. These are: Literary, Musical and Movie references. Laika is not only Soviet dog, which was in space. Between November 1957 and March 1961 a total of 13 dogs (including Laika) were used in Soviet space flights, many of whom were recovered unhamed.
.
By order of flight, they were:
Bars and Lisichka:
They never made it to space. If they had, they might have made history as the first dogs to make a successful re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, on July 28, 1960, during a test flight, one of the boosters on the test craft exploded, and both dogs were killed…
Strelka and Belka:
History’s first successful attempt to launch an animal and have it re-enter the atmosphere alive. Strelka and Belka were launched into orbit on August 19, 1960, along with their co-habitants of forty mice, two rats, and a variety of live plants. They spent one day in space, and were later retrieved from Sputnik 5 in full health after a landing back on earth. Strelka later gave birth to six puppies, one of which by name Pushinka was given to Caroline Kennedy, daughter of U.S. president John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy was fond of animals. He had got the cat, by name Tom Kitten; the canary by name Robin; Sardar,the horse; ponies named Macaroni, Tex, and Leprechaun; plus dogs named Pushinka, Shannon, Wolf , Clipper and Charlie. By the way, Pushinka and Charlie had pups: Blackie, Butterfly, Streaker and White Tips.
Pchelka and Mushka:
December 1, 1960, Russia attempted it’s third launch of dogs. While the launching and orbiting for a day were successful, Dogs Pchelka and Mushka were killed when Sputnik 6 re-entered the atmosphere at too steep of anangle and was destroyed on impact.
Krasavka and Damka:
Another Sputnik was sent off carrying two more dogs, Krasavka and Damka, just 21 days after the destruction of Sputnik 6. This launch was aborted after the booster’s upper rocket stage failed, and both dogs were safely recovered.
Chernushka:
Sputnik 9 carried the dog, Chernushka on a single-orbit mission on March 9, 1961. Chernushka shared the satellite with more mice and a guinea pig. These animals were also recovered safely from re-entry.
Zvezdochka:
On March 25, 1961, Sputnik was sent into a single-orbit mission, carrying Zvezdochka, and her flight companion, a wooden mannequin. This was the final test flight of the Vostok capsule.
With it’s successful re-entry, Yuri Gagarin followed to become the first man in space.
Ugolek and Veterok:
The canine spaceflight record that still stands today is held by dogs Ugolek and Veterok. They orbited the earth for an astounding twenty-two days in the biosatellite Kosmos 110. Launched into orbit on February 22, 1966, and recovered March 16, 1966, their record stood unsurpassed even by humans until Skylab 2 launched in June of 1974 All these dogs were females. Female dogs were chosen because they didn’t have to stand and lift a leg to urinate.
People travelled to space, but not first. The first were dogs and they were used because scientists felt that dogs could endure long periods of inactivity better than other animals.
These experiments proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. These dogs were first creatures, who felt that their bodies behaved differently in space than on Earth. The astronauts who spent weeks in Skylab felt what happened to the human body after spending prolonged periods of time in space
For example:
Birdlegs
Legs become thinner and thinner as time passes. The muscles of the legs push fluids and blood upward, which decreases the size of the thighs and calves
Wasp Waist
The waist becomes smaller by 3 to 5 inches due an upward shift of the internal organs.
Height and Posture
The body grows ½ to 2/4 inches taller because the spine lengthens and straightens. Relaxed body posture in space is head tilted backward, shoulders up (like a shrug) and arms afloat, up and forward with hands chest high.
Face
Loose flesh rises, giving the face a high-cheekboned look. Bags appear under the eyes, veins in the forehead swell, and the whole face looks puffy.
Feelings
At first the body feels lightheaded and nauseated, or sick to the stomach. After a few days these feelings go away, but full-headed feeling (like hanging upside-down) remains.
’’Sputnik 1’’ and the first following Russian space ships were designed by Sergey Pavlovich Korolev – a great Soviet designer of guided missels, rockets and spacecraft.
Korolev’s work led to the Soviet Union’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).He directed system engineering for Soviet launch vehicles and spacecraft, including design, testing, construction and launching of manned and unmanned spacecraft and was the guiding genius behind the Soviet spaceflight programme.
The European Space Agency’s Arianespace launch company plans to blast 50 satellites to space on one rocket in 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first-ever space satellite. The most important for living creature satellite, called ’’Sputnik 2’’ was also launched from Baykonour. During the 1950s and 1960s the Russian Space Agency used a number of dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The first men and women who travelled in space in the 1960s- depended on the sacrifices of other animals that gave their lives for the advancement of human knowledge about the conditions in outer space beyond this planet’s protective ozone layer, about the effects of weightlessness on living organisms and about the effects of stress on behaviour. Near the end of the 1950s, the USSR was preparing to send a dog into orbit above Earth. The Soviets used nine so-called Space dogs to test spacesuits in the unpressurized cabins of spaceflight capsules. Scientists in the Soviet Union were sure that organisms from Earth could live in space. To demonstrate that,they sent the world’s second artificial space satellite-Sputnik 2-to space from Baykonour Cosmodrome on November 3,1957.
On board was a live mongrel dog, named Laika. Let us face the truth: It is Russian dog Laika paved the space travel highway and made it safe for humans to past the Earth’s atmosphere.
Laika.
Born:1954 (?)
Birthplace: Russia
Death: (?) November 1957
Best known as: The first dog to orbit the Earth.
Laika was a space pioneer. Also, she was the first-ever living creature, launched into space, carried on board of the Russian satellite ’’Sputnik 2’’,(thirty days after the first successful satellite launch of ’’Sputnik 1’’). By the way, Laika first said ’’Hello’’ to the people of Earth on a radio broadcast October 27, a week before her historic flight. She barked into the microphone. In Russian Laika means ’’Barker’’ or originally named ’’Kudryavka’’ (Little curly).She was also known as Zhuchka (Little bug) and Limonchik (Little lemon). The American media dubbed her ’’Muttnik’’. Just think: Laika had been a stray dog – mostly a Siberian husky and around three years old – rounded up from the Moscow streets and trained for spaceflight.
Laika was supported inside the satellite by a harness that allowed some movement and access to food and water. Electrodes transmitted vital sighs including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing rate.
After reaching orbit the nose cone was jettisoned successfully but the block A core didn’t separate as planned, preventing the thermal control system from operating correctly. Some of the thermal insulation also tore loose. Laika’s spacecraft had life support systems, padded walls and was outfitted with scientific gauges, but wasn’t designed for recovery. You will ask:’’Why?’’ All because soon, after ’’Sputnik 1’’ triumph Nikita Khruschev – the Soviet leader at that time at one reception made the suggestion that another Sputnik be launched to mark 40th anniversary of the Great October Revolution celebrated on November 7.
At the time Korolev had a sophisticated research satellite in the works.
However, it couldn’t possibly be ready for take off before December 1957. During work on the second satellite all traditions developed in rocket technology were thrown out, that’s why satellite wasn’t designed for recovery. The Soviets admitted soon after the launch that spacecraft wouldn’t return, meaning that the animal was doomed from the start.
There are many hypotesis about time of Laika’s death. Recently, several Russian sources revealed that Laika survived in Orbit for four days and then died when cabin overheated (the temperature in the cabin rose to 40 degrees celcium or 104 F). Some experts think that Laika died of shock soon after start. Oleg Gazenko is one of the lead scientists of the Soviet animals-in-space program, he said:” The more time passes, the more I’m sorry about it. We shouldn’t have done it… We didn’t learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog.” Laika became one of the most famous dogs in the world. Laika again captures hearts of people, with the monument to her erected 50 years after her spaceflight by the Russians to honour fallen cosmonauts at Star City outside Moscow. The likeness of Laika can be seen peeping out from behind the cosmonauts in the monument. Laika is also remembered on a plague at the Moscow research center where she was trained. On March 9, 2005 a patch of soil on Mars was unofficially named ”Laika” by mission controllers, it is located near Vostok Crater in Meridiani Planum. It was examined by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity’s microscope imager on Sol 400. Laika has been pictured on several postage stamps in different countries. A lot of references commemorate us about Laika. These are: Literary, Musical and Movie references. Laika is not only Soviet dog, which was in space. Between November 1957 and March 1961 a total of 13 dogs (including Laika) were used in Soviet space flights, many of whom were recovered unhamed.
.
By order of flight, they were:
Bars and Lisichka:
They never made it to space. If they had, they might have made history as the first dogs to make a successful re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, on July 28, 1960, during a test flight, one of the boosters on the test craft exploded, and both dogs were killed…
Strelka and Belka:
History’s first successful attempt to launch an animal and have it re-enter the atmosphere alive. Strelka and Belka were launched into orbit on August 19, 1960, along with their co-habitants of forty mice, two rats, and a variety of live plants. They spent one day in space, and were later retrieved from Sputnik 5 in full health after a landing back on earth. Strelka later gave birth to six puppies, one of which by name Pushinka was given to Caroline Kennedy, daughter of U.S. president John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy was fond of animals. He had got the cat, by name Tom Kitten; the canary by name Robin; Sardar,the horse; ponies named Macaroni, Tex, and Leprechaun; plus dogs named Pushinka, Shannon, Wolf , Clipper and Charlie. By the way, Pushinka and Charlie had pups: Blackie, Butterfly, Streaker and White Tips.
Pchelka and Mushka:
December 1, 1960, Russia attempted it’s third launch of dogs. While the launching and orbiting for a day were successful, Dogs Pchelka and Mushka were killed when Sputnik 6 re-entered the atmosphere at too steep of anangle and was destroyed on impact.
Krasavka and Damka:
Another Sputnik was sent off carrying two more dogs, Krasavka and Damka, just 21 days after the destruction of Sputnik 6. This launch was aborted after the booster’s upper rocket stage failed, and both dogs were safely recovered.
Chernushka:
Sputnik 9 carried the dog, Chernushka on a single-orbit mission on March 9, 1961. Chernushka shared the satellite with more mice and a guinea pig. These animals were also recovered safely from re-entry.
Zvezdochka:
On March 25, 1961, Sputnik was sent into a single-orbit mission, carrying Zvezdochka, and her flight companion, a wooden mannequin. This was the final test flight of the Vostok capsule.
With it’s successful re-entry, Yuri Gagarin followed to become the first man in space.
Ugolek and Veterok:
The canine spaceflight record that still stands today is held by dogs Ugolek and Veterok. They orbited the earth for an astounding twenty-two days in the biosatellite Kosmos 110. Launched into orbit on February 22, 1966, and recovered March 16, 1966, their record stood unsurpassed even by humans until Skylab 2 launched in June of 1974 All these dogs were females. Female dogs were chosen because they didn’t have to stand and lift a leg to urinate.
People travelled to space, but not first. The first were dogs and they were used because scientists felt that dogs could endure long periods of inactivity better than other animals.
These experiments proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. These dogs were first creatures, who felt that their bodies behaved differently in space than on Earth. The astronauts who spent weeks in Skylab felt what happened to the human body after spending prolonged periods of time in space
For example:
Birdlegs
Legs become thinner and thinner as time passes. The muscles of the legs push fluids and blood upward, which decreases the size of the thighs and calves
Wasp Waist
The waist becomes smaller by 3 to 5 inches due an upward shift of the internal organs.
Height and Posture
The body grows ½ to 2/4 inches taller because the spine lengthens and straightens. Relaxed body posture in space is head tilted backward, shoulders up (like a shrug) and arms afloat, up and forward with hands chest high.
Face
Loose flesh rises, giving the face a high-cheekboned look. Bags appear under the eyes, veins in the forehead swell, and the whole face looks puffy.
Feelings
At first the body feels lightheaded and nauseated, or sick to the stomach. After a few days these feelings go away, but full-headed feeling (like hanging upside-down) remains.
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