Laika, the Russian space dog, rests comfortably inside the Soviet satellite Sputnik II in preparation of becoming the first living creature to orbit the earth. Bettmann/Getty Images ...

Laika, a female, was launched into space in 1957 aboard Sputnik II, paving the way for human space missions. (The Minnesota Star Tribune) Comment Gift Share Listen ...

Laika, a mixed-breed dog, was the first living being in orbit. She was launched on the Soviet Union's Sputnik 2 mission in November 1957. (Image credit: NASA) ...

FOR those too young to remember, “Sputnik Mania” documents the fear and anxiety that gripped the United States half a century ago when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite in October ...

Laika is remembered by many for being the first living creature to be sent into space, on November 3, 1957. Laika was the only crew member of the second artificial satellite in history, Sputnik II ...

On this day: Sputnik II and Laika, the first dog in space, re-enters Earth's atmosphere 14 April 1958: The spacecraft Sputnik II re-entered the Earth's atmosphere after 162 days in space bearing a ...

The Soviets followed up the launch with Sputnik II in early November 1957, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.

Without its passenger, Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months. During and after the flight, the Soviet Union kept up the fiction that Laika survived for several days.

November 3 - Russia today successfully launched a second space satellite. It weighs half a ton and has a dog on board. Laika, the female dog that was a passenger aboard Sputnik II.Credit: (AP ...

Ahead of the Sputnik II mission, several dogs had been flown to the stratosphere on a rocket and parachuted back to Earth. But for the first space flight, Gazenko picked Laika from a pool of three ...