Whats a Laika?
Laika was a dog that participated in the Soviet Space Program. Here’s what Rodney Elin had to say about it: “The Laika of the song was the first dog in space. She was also the first animal in space. Laika’s flight on Sputnik II, 3 Nov 1957, was primarily to see if animals would stay alive in space, or in Soviet space capsules, and to see if telemetry (remote monitoring of stuff like heartrate) worked after launch. Laika was ‘left in space’, to burn up in the atmosphere. There was never any plan or controversy in 1957: she was going up and she was going to burn up and die on reentry (6 days later). Once launched, there was not really a controversy. There was no return capability on Sputnik or any space vehicle. A picture, not for the squirmish, is available at http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/laika.html As far as the song goes, Laika is held as one of the symbols ushering in the space age. (As are Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
