55 flight Laika into space! (9 photos)

55 flight Laika into space!





New milestone in the exploration of space is connected with the name of the 2-year-old mongrel Laika, Nov. 3, 1957 that the first made the first orbital flight around the Earth. This quiet and very affectionate dog also became the first tailed astronaut, whose name was "declassified" and became known throughout the world. However, for a long time about her flight did not tell the whole truth because she was very sad.
The fact is that in those days did not know how to build ships, which provided for the return of the crew back to Earth. Therefore, from the outset it was clear that Laika - a cosmonaut bombers. Nevertheless, everyone thought that Laika died peacefully just after the air in the cabin end (for some reason, such a death did not seem terrible Russian scientists). In fact, everything turned out differently.



Laika successfully withstood all the congestion caused during take-off rockets, and felt absolutely fine for 4 turns of the satellite around the Earth. But then something happened that could not have foreseen the designers of the spacecraft. Due to an error of calculation of the area of ​​the satellite thermal control system and the lack of skin temperature during the flight rose to 40 ° C. As a result, Laika died of overheating, although the official statement said that after her dog put to sleep all jobs.



Over the years, a reminder of the heroism of Laiki served only her portrait on a pack of cigarettes of the same name (see, a very strange version of the monument to the hero). And only 11 of April 2008 in Moscow Tepliy alley in the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine, where she prepared the space experiment was a monument to Laika sculptor Pavel Medvedev. The two-meter monument of a space rocket, which passes into the palm, which stands proudly quadrupedal researcher of extraterrestrial space.



Belka and Strelka were not the first dog made a space trip. They were the first four-legged astronauts who flew around the Earth and back. Their further fate has developed quite well.



Everyone's darling lived at the Space Research Institute to a very old age, and in the space is no longer flying.



Incidentally, the arrow left behind numerous offspring, and one of her puppies - Fluff - was presented to the daughter of US President John F. Kennedy Carolina.



Surprisingly, biographical information about these four-legged "space woman" is extremely low. They (and all other pets space explorers) took shelter of stray dogs in Moscow. Estimated age at which they made their space flight was about 2 and a half years.
According to those who have communicated with the dogs, Arrow was shy and a little closed, although it is quite friendly, and had all the makings of a Squirrel leader, was very sociable and clearly bossed their "tandem».