In 1957, a significant event took place in the Soviet Union . In November, a dog was sent into space. This is the first mammal on the planet to be in space orbit. However, this event is rather sad than joyful. Laika was sent into space. The astronaut dog gave the person a lot of information about the flight, but she died.
Flight preparation
Literally twelve days before the launch of the rocket, a candidate for astronauts was found. At the last moment, the choice of scientists fell on the dog, and not on other mammals. Perhaps because people like this animal most of all. And the astronaut dog will become a favorite of the people, scientists decided.
The candidate was taken from a pet shelter. They decided not to take a purebred dog, as they are less adapted to difficult conditions. An indispensable condition was the light color of the animal's coat, so that it would turn out better in photographs. The first astronaut dog is Laika, which was taken from a regular shelter.
Cosmonaut Training
Preparation began almost immediately after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, which instantly became famous. The idea of flying an animal is an attempt to consolidate the success of the Soviet Union as a whole and in the space industry in particular. The country did not have any thoughtful drawings and developments in this area. Designed the device on the go, immediately translating ideas into reality. Laika (dog-cosmonaut) also underwent special training.
It was clear to everyone that this flight would be only one way. Only the time that the dog could stretch to his death in the spacecraft was unknown .
Flight
Colossal overloads hit the dog during take-off. She was pressed into the container, but she endured everything heroically. Initially, the dog did not create any special amenities for a long stay in orbit.
The creators of the device thought that the dog will die 6 days after the start, when the device runs out of electricity. But the unexpected happened. Laika survived only a few hours. The cause of death was excessive heating of the aircraft under the sun. Laika, the first astronaut dog to enter the Earth’s orbit, died in the name of science.
The tragedy of the whole world
The whole world was sad. In the media of many countries there were reports of the fate of a shaggy creature. Animal advocates called Khrushchev a flayer, demonstrations and other protests were organized. Humanity, which enthusiastically received the news of the launch of the first artificial satellite, expects the death of a four-legged friend. They did not need such progress.
Western countries have already commemorated Laika, and in the Soviet Union, the media continued to inform the people about the state of an already dead dog. Only on the eighth day there was a message about communication problems with the space satellite. Subsequently, the USSR reported that the animal was allegedly euthanized. And so went down in the history of Laika. The astronaut dog allowed the engineers to take into account many features of the aircraft in order to send a person into space in the future.
Public opinion
The Soviet people did not like this news. The reason was this: people did not know that this flight was originally planned one way. Citizens hoped to see the hero of this space flight after his return to Earth. Because of this, the achievement of Russian cosmonautics did not seem so bright. But in fact, colossal conclusions were made, became the hero of Laika (dog-cosmonaut). Photos of the animal are available in all museums of space.
The death of the dog was especially painful for the younger generation. Above was instructed to conduct among schoolchildren explanatory conversations that:
- Space exploration is important for the country.
- The life of a dog is incomparable compared to the opening prospects.
- Laika is now known all over the world, and before that it was unknown to anyone.
But the people could not calm down for a long time. One could even hear a joke that Khrushchev himself was flying into space next. Citizens sent proposals to Moscow to confer the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously and even confer a military rank on her. Rumor has it that this issue was even discussed in the government.
The authorities at that time had not yet learned to influence public opinion. They decided to act in the following way: new cigarettes and Laika cigarettes appeared on the market. Perhaps in government circles it was hoped that feelings of empathy and grief of citizens would turn into smoke. There was an idea to release other products with the same name, but later they abandoned this idea - it could turn out to be too much. However, the heroically deceased Laika (dog-cosmonaut) became a world celebrity. Although she was the most common mongrel, who accidentally ended up in a shelter.