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Excerpts from the 1998 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia |
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Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 4, 1957. It was simply a test payload containing a radio beacon and a thermometer, and had been referred to by its designers as the "ES" (elementary satellite). A month later, on November 3, a half-ton payload carrying a dog was put into orbit. The dog, called Laika, was kept alive for ten days, proving that life could survive the conditions of space. Sputnik 3, launched on May 15, 1958, reportedly contained apparatus to measure space radiation. Seven other spacecraft were given Sputnik designations; they functioned either as prototypes for the Vostok manned spacecraft or as platforms from which probes to the planet Venus were launched. by James E. Oberg Bibliography:
Laika{ly'-kuh} The female dog Laika was the first living creature to be sent into outer space. She was launched by the USSR on Nov. 3, 1957, in the 508-kg (1,120-lb) Sputnik 2 satellite. Laika traveled in a sealed, cylindrical cabin that contained equipment for recording her pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and heartbeat. The craft was not designed to return her to Earth. |