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Dog became world’s first cosmonaut 60 yrs ago


Still Waters

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Laika was a dog with humble beginnings who would become a global star. The first living being to leave the Earth’s orbit, taking off 60 years ago today in the Russian satellite Sputnik on Nov. 3, 1957, the stray mutt landed a place in history.

Discovered by a talent spotter from the Russian space program on the streets, the dog met all the criteria—docile, resourceful, peed without lifting a leg, and photogenic. One of six picked to train for space travel, Laika was ultimately chosen to go for her quizzical expression, her trainer, 90-year-old biologist Adilya Kotovskaya, told the Associated Press.

https://qz.com/1119003/a-stray-dog-became-the-worlds-first-cosmonaut-60-years-ago-today/

 

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Scientist recalls training Laika for space

https://phys.org/news/2017-11-dog-star-scientist-recalls-laika.html

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No matter how often I have wanted to hear a happy ending to this story it always ends in tears. R.I.P. Laika, you are not forgotten.

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1 hour ago, seanjo said:

Poor bloody dog, it died terrified.

it certainly did, by no choice . I won't call it progress , but torture (the Russian way).

Edited by qxcontinuum
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Well, that was spooky...

The very second I clicked this link, the movie I have on in the background - Hanna - has a scene where Eric Bana's character is giving a speech about this very dog! :o

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36 minutes ago, qxcontinuum said:

I won't call it progress , but torture (the Russian way).

Before specifically condemning the Russians it is worth pointing out that, before the first U.S. astronauts flew, NASA did many experiments on animals, including rapid decompression tests on chimpanzees. As recently as 2010 NASA were irradiating squirrel monkeys to simulate long term space missions.

It is wrong to single out one nation for animal testing when it was standard practice world wide.

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i don't expect much from Americans either ...

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On 11/4/2017 at 1:10 AM, qxcontinuum said:

i don't expect much from Americans either ...

What part of "standard practice world wide" did you not understand?

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10 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

What part of "standard practice world wide" did you not understand?

all of it...

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On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 9:09 PM, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Before specifically condemning the Russians it is worth pointing out that, before the first U.S. astronauts flew, NASA did many experiments on animals, including rapid decompression tests on chimpanzees. As recently as 2010 NASA were irradiating squirrel monkeys to simulate long term space missions.

It is wrong to single out one nation for animal testing when it was standard practice world wide.

While I agree, Waspie, there will always be more sympathy for a dog or a cat, than a chimp in my and many others eyes.  We shouldn't, but we place more value on animals we consider pets than ones we don't.

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Let this sink in even a dog can be an astronaut while hundreds of thousands of people are complaining about how hard it is to find a job, lazy *Snip*
...
p.s. no hate it's supposed to be motivational

Edited by Still Waters
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He was asked how the flight went, he simply stated "ruff"...

Edited by TripGun
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Can anyone come with information on whether "Laika" was the name of the husky-like breed, or was Laika the actual name of the dog? Or was the dog - a stray taken off the streets of Moscow - simply called "Laika" because she was part-Laika?

When I was young all the text books said she was "put to sleep" and died peacefully. That seems not to have been what really happened. However, as Waspie points out, I don't think the Soviet Union should be singled out as being the only nation that has used animals to test the conditions at high altitude and in space. The situation also has to be put into context. Sergei Korolev - the Chief Designer - who headed the Soviet space program at that time, was imprisoned during Stalin's "Great Purge". Dog meat was on the menu at the gulag prison he was sent to. 

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