August 26 is International Dog Day. In honor of this holiday, the editorial staff of Universe Space Tech decided to remember our smaller brothers that flew into space. We should say at once that this is not the most cheerful story — after all, not all dogs managed to return safely to Earth. But their sacrifice was not in vain: four-legged friends helped us pave the way to space. So, it’s time to remember them.
Suborbital dogs
Mostly dogs were sent into space by the Soviet Union. This practice started back in the early 1950s during the first suborbital launches, the purpose of which was to study the upper atmosphere and the effects of flight conditions on living organisms.
Dogs were chosen because scientists believed they were easier than monkeys to train, cheaper, and carried long periods of inactivity well. Stray dogs, which were thought to be better adapted to stress, were selected for the flights.
The dogs Dezik and Tsygan were the first to visit space. It happened on August 15, 1951. The animals were aboard the R-1 rocket, which was based on the V-2. It reached a maximum altitude of 110 kilometers, crossing the Karman Line. Dezik and Tsygan successfully returned to Earth aboard the return capsule.
However, not all flights were so successful. For example, Dezik died during his next flight because his parachute failed to open. Tsygan was luckier. He was kept as a pet by Soviet physicist Anatolii Blagonravov. In total, nearly fifty dogs made suborbital flights in the 1950s. 13 of them died.
China also conducted two suborbital launches with dogs in the 1960s. Both dogs returned safely to Earth. According to some reports, a dog was also on board the Shenzhou spacecraft during one of its unmanned tests — but China has never officially confirmed this information.
Doomed Laika
After the launch of the first Sputnik, the Soviet Union wanted to continue the success and impress the world again with some kind of achievement. But what could be more spectacular than the first living creature in orbit? So it was decided to put a dog on board the next spacecraft. And since the main thing then was to launch as soon as possible, this automatically gave the unfortunate dog a death sentence. Because at that time, the USSR didn’t have the technology at its disposal to bring back a living being from space.
But nobody cared much about it then. The choice fell on a dog named Kudryavka (“Little Curly”), which was renamed Laika (“Barker”) because of its loud barking. The dog was expected to live about a week. The feeder was filled for this period, adding a dose of poison to the last portion to put the dog out of its misery.
Laika went into space on November 3, 1957. She died on the fifth orbit. Due to an error in calculating the area of the satellite and the lack of a thermal management system, the temperature inside began to rise rapidly and the dog died from overheating. At the same time, the USSR published reports on the well-being of the already dead Laika for another week, after which it announced that it had sedated her.
Scientifically, the flight proved that a living being can survive launch into orbit and weightlessness. From a moral point of view, launching a dog into space that had no chance of being rescued caused a lot of criticism in Western countries — so the propaganda effect was not exactly what the USSR had hoped for. It is also known that some employees involved in Laika’s training took the dog’s death psychologically hard and later had regrets.
Belka and Strelka
The next launches of dogs into space were conducted as part of the Vostok spacecraft tests. Its first test subjects were the dogs Lisichka (“Little Fox”) and Bars (Chaika).It is claimed that Lisichka was a favorite of the Korolov, and before flying, he even told her: “I want you back so much.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Due to a malfunction during the launch, the rocket with the spacecraft fell to the ground and exploded. Lisichka and Bars were dead. After that, it was decided to develop an emergency rescue system that allowed to save the spacecraft crew not only during orbit entry, but also during the launch process.
The next space dogs were Kaplia and Vilna, who before the flight were given new nicknames under which they were recognized by the whole world: Belka and Strelka. Their flight in August 1960 was much more successful. The dogs successfully returned to Earth and lived to a very old age.
But the flights of space dogs didn’t end there. Pchelka (“Little Bee”) and Muska (“Little Fly”) went into orbit next. The flight itself was successful, but during the return to Earth, the braking system malfunctioned. The spacecraft began to return to Earth on an uncalculated trajectory. To prevent it from landing in another country’s territory, it was blown up. The dogs were killed.
After that, three more Vostok flights took place, during which dogs Zhulka, Zhemchuzhyna (“Pearl”), Chernushka (“Blackie”) and Zvezdochka (“Little Star”) visited space. All of them returned safely to Earth, paving the way for Yurii Gagarin.
The last dogs in space were Veterok (“Breeze”) and Ugolyok (“Little Piece Of Coal”). This happened in 1966. The purpose of the experiment was to find out how a long stay in space would affect a living organism. In total, the dogs spent 23 days in orbit. During this time, their spacecraft crossed the radiation belt several times.
Veterok and Ugolyok returned to Earth in a terrifying physical condition. Their fur had thinned and was pulling out in shreds, with only bare skin in many places, diaper rash and sores. The dogs could not stand on their feet and were very weak. Nevertheless, the scientists managed to cure Veterok and Ugolyok. Subsequently, they gave healthy offspring.
Since then, no one has ever launched a dog into space. And it’s probably for the best. Although dogs have helped humans conquer space, there was a pretty big price to pay. We can only be glad that we can now get the data we need without jeopardizing our four-legged friends.
