The Space Age in Middle Age

Nov. 3, 1957 — Sputnik was followed by Sputnik 2, a larger satellite that this time carried a living passenger: a 13-lb. female terrier named Laika. This was very good news for the Soviets but not so good for Laika herself. Though it was possible to shoot her into orbit, no one had quite figured out how to bring her back. There was enough food, water and power to keep her alive for a week and a half, but Laika succumbed to the extreme temperatures (no one had quite worked out all the thermal issues either) after just a day or two. Sputnik 2 re-entered in a fiery streak on April 14, 1958, providing the sacrificial pooch a fittingly spectacular end.