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Sputnik 2: Then and now
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On Nov. 3 1957, the Soviet Union launched its second satellite into orbit, Sputnik 2. Unlike Sputnik 1, this satellite carried a passenger, a dog named Laika. Her name means, "Barker" in English. However her fate was not to return to earth as a champion of Soviet socialist ideals - it was to perish. Today, there would be protests from PETA, a proposed ban on goods from the Soviet Union and a special report by Anderson Cooper entitled "Puppies in Peril."
Imagine the reaction if the overriding reason behind the mission was made public - a publicity stunt to trumpet the superiority of Soviet technology over the West's. Yeah that would go over real well, killing a puppy for a publicity stunt. In fact,many Soviet citizens viewed the mission that way - as a stunt. The opinion in the American government was far different, they felt this mission was not propaganda but rather a prelude to the Soviet Union's first manned flights into space and they were correct.
Today, it takes years to design and build new spacecraft, this mission however was a product of a different age. Sputnik 2 was designed and built in four weeks. Why the tight deadline? Nikita Khrushchev wanted the mission to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, which is celebrated on November 7. It is dubious at best that any mission to space these days, sponsored by a government, would be done primarily for political gain or to mark an anniversary.
Today in Star City, Russia Laika has a statue and plaque in her honor. Her contribution to spaceflight history has not been forgotten by the folks at NASA either, one of the targets that the Mars Exploration Rovers worked on was dubbed - "Laika."
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