Laika is Russian (Лайка) for “barker”, which is now also referred to a breed of dog: mongrel (mixed breed).
(used with permission from Maria Daines/Paul Killington)
Moscow, Russia just nine days before Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3rd, 1957 a homeless dog was snatched up from the streets. She was named Laika. A handler calls her Kudryavka (Little Curly). She begins training for a mission to space inside Sputnik 2. Laika the first living creature to be launched into space. She will be famous. She was everything they were looking for down to being cute and photogenic.
Laika had to undergo a lot of training and conditioning before her mission. She wasn't much interested in this but being the smart dog she was she did what they asked and pleased them.
Learning to hold still for long periods of time, she was the perfect size for the mission. She was placed into very small capsule where she couldn't barely move and had a bag on attached to her rear end to defecate. Also had a sensors implanted to monitor her heart rate and blood pressure. A balloon placed surgicly into her artery. They simulated a take off and high accelerations the loud noises to prep her for her mission.
"Laika was playing with kids, when she saw their mother sitting still, her eyes wet with tears. Laika went to her; she put her head on the lady's lap and looked at her as if she was saying: "Why are you crying? You have a beautiful home. I like you and I like your kids. And your man has always been nice to me. I love him and I trust him. But I could love you too. I already do. You seem so kind, why are you crying? Perhaps you want to keep me. I wouldn't mind, they are not bad there, but I could really stay with you and your kids for a while. Would you too make me wear a white suit and helmet? Would you too put me in that noise things that turns around and makes me sick and dizzy? I don't think you would. I know I would be free here and run and jump with your kids. Maybe I could sleep in a real bed instead in that cage. It is so small, I can't move and I feel so alone there. I will tell to you only, that I am scared too, I really don't like their games anymore. I I am still young, I can change, I can still learn other games. I am a good doggie. So maybe you could think and take me in..... A tear fell on lady's hand, gently stroking Laika's coat. Laika licked it and the woman left the room, sobbing loudly. The man took Laika back to the research centre. He was not a politician, nor a scientist. He was a doctor. Privately, as an insider, he had always felt this mission was less about science and more about beating the other nation. Laika was just an innocent victim. And he never despised and hated his leader as deeply as on that day."
Some of the staff at the lab grew attached to Laika, taking her for walks and playing with her. She was such a happy dog and so full of life. Laika would make a perfect family companion, but instead they had a mission for her.
October 31st - November 3rd, 1957 in Moscow were the last days for Laika on Earth. She was groomed, combed with a fine tooth comb, washed down with a solution of alcohol. Her chest shaved and all electrodes surgically put in place and her space suit was put on her.
Sputnik 2 was suppose to launch on October 31st, 1957 but due to technical problems it wasn't launched until three days later. However, in those three days Laika waited, in the capsule. Remember this capsule was so small she couldn't move except stand up or lay down and had to defecate in a bag attached to her rear.
One of the handlers describes her eyes were wide open with wonder; another one said they were wide open with deadly fear. Inside the tiny capsule darkness gave way to a feeble light and this filled Laika with the last ray of hope that the game was over. Through the small porthole she studied workers hoping to lock her eyes with her favorite master's. But he stood at the back, he couldn't handle it, it was too much for him. He knew Laika would never leave that capsule again. He knew she was already in her own coffin, getting ready to fly above the sky never to come back.
"Laika was quiet and charming," Dr. Vladimir Yazdovsky wrote in his book chronicling the story of Soviet space medicine. He recalled that before heading to the launch pad, he took the dog home to play with his children. "I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live," Yazdovsky said.
November 3rd, 1957 Sputnik 2 was launched with Laika inside.
Her heart rate soared she was terrified as well as her breathing going almost four times the normal rate. It is heartbreaking to think of how Laika felt at that time. Once in orbit her heart rate returned to normal and she was eating and drinking.
They did know before reaching orbit that the cabin was very hot and uncomfortable. Her heart was broken. She was suffering from heat exhaustion.
Oleg Gazenko, one of the lead scientists on the Soviet animals-in-space program, expressed his deep regrets during a Moscow news conference: "The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it.... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."
Speculation can only be used on when Laika died. Russia had the world believing that she lived for several days in space. Recently in 2002 it was released that she died only after 5-7hrs in orbit. She died from overheating and stress.
Eventually the capsule that held this precious girls body fell back to Earth and burned up on reentry. At last she was brought back home where she belonged. Her mission was complete and she could finally rest in peace. It was the only dignity this baby had.
When one of Laika's handlers died his last words were "Forgive me Laika" the dread weighed heavy on many involved in her mission. It was such a waste. They did not have the means to bring a capsule back to Earth at the time. Her handlers sent her to space for certain death and that stayed in their hearts.
Laika's "coffin" circled the Earth 2,570 times and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958.
Laika never asked for this mission, it was chosen for her. They boasted at how famous she would be. Did Laika want that? As a great song wrote for Laika says "I am ashamed to be your hero". She never asked to go through such misery and a horrible death. Remember, she was just a stray on the streets of Moscow wanting a loving home. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, lured to come with. She did come to them and trusted them to love her. Instead she was part of a cruel experiment that resulted in her death and they learned very little.
April 2008 Moscow put up a memorial finally for Laika to remember how she gave her life for this mission. Many try to rationalize the mission as saying she was a pioneer that paved the way for humans to follow into space. Really nothing was learned from her mission. Nothing worth her life. Later on Russia launched more dogs into space but finally had the means to return them to Earth safely.
It was Laika that was sent on a one way mission to die in space. There was never a plan to bring her back.
The small monument is near a military research facility in Moscow that prepared Laika's flight to space on Nov. 3, 1957.
It features the likeness of Laika standing on a rocket.
At the unveiling ceremony the head of the Institute of military medicine, Igor Ushakov, said: "I'm looking at the monument and indeed recognize Laika. She is glancing at the house where the pre-flight preparations and training took place."
Links
Rainbow Bridge
Maria Daines - Song and tribute to Laika
BBC
