William Atkins
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 22:55
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Did you know? … That on August 20, 1960, the U.S.S.R. returned—for the first time—two live dogs from space and that, on August 20, 1977, the U.S. launched the NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft, which is still providing important data over thirty years later while racing toward the edge of the solar system.
Space Dogs
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), now known as Russia, sent two dogs—Belka (literally “Squirrel” but probably more likely “Whitey”) and Strelka (“Little Arrow”) into space aboard Korabl-Sputnik-2 (Spaceship Satellite-2), also called Sputnik 5, on August 19, 1960.
The spacecraft orbited the Earth eighteen times and was then de-orbited the next day (August 20th). The dogs made it back to Earth alive—the first living organisms to return from space to Earth.
Also on the ride were a gray rabbit, numerous mice, two rats, some flies, and many plants and fungi. All the them survived their trip to space. In fact, all of them were the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive.
Later, Strelka gave birth to six puppies. One of them, named Pushinka, was sent by the Soviets to U.S. President John F. Kennedy as a gift for his children.
The bodies of Strelka and Belka are preserved at the Memorial Museum of Astronautics in Moscow, Russia.
In addition, the Russians are producing a feature animated film of the dogs’ trip into space called
Star Dogs: Belka and Strelka.
According to
CollectSpace.com, the plot of the movie is:
“Belka, a circus dog, dreams of flying under the big top. Strelka, a mongrel, thinks only of where she can find one more bone. Her friend rat Lenya helps her in this earthly business at the utmost extent of his ability, but he remains an incorrigible romantic deep inside. When Strelka and Lenya organize one more wild-cat venture to get something to eat, a circus rocket falls down on them with the beautiful Belka. This accidental meeting is where the world's history of space exploration began...”
The
movie is expected to be released in Russia in December 2009.
Please read page 2 for the August 20th experiences of the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
