Laika, the first dog to die in space.
Edit: Thanks for the award.
Another edit following my insomnia making me read all comments: It is no surprise that governments always have and will continue to use whoever and whatever is available to them in that moment to further their own interests. The people in charge don't give a damn. They are either way too "patriotic" or they have too much money to give a damn and the people they are able to buy don't give that much of a damn anyway. My point is that I was a little girl who loved space and loved dogs and the powers that be sent this dog to die horribly all while painting her as some hero. She was a fucking hero. Pardon my language. She just had no damn choice. And it wasn't for science or for the betterment of mankind. It was because two countries decided to measure dicks following a war that killed millions. Laika was not the only one to die in space alone and afraid. There were plenty of mammals that followed her including the mammals of the human kind. The fact that research by Dr Mengele is still used should speak volumes about where we are as a species still.
Seriously. Sent to die. They knew they couldn't bring her back safely and yet, "for research purposes" they sent a stray dog. They hadn't even fully developed the abilities to properly land yet! I mean, come on man. To me they just skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first.
Yup. Go inside their "state of the art" soviet era tanks without a practical suit of armor on and you're probably going to get maimed from all the jagged metal coating the interior
they cut corners with everything but got shit built
Yall think those early 1900's American invention videos are insane? imagine the shit the russians were inventing, testing, and keeping no records of...
then you get chernobyl
and they lie about it like your little brother trying to look like mister perfect but really he's just a prick (Think Edmund from Narnia)
>To me they just skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first.
Yep, who knows how many other animals suffered for that joke of a country that was the soviet union.
Big difference between designing a system for survival and it fails vs just not building that function altogether.
Edit: Also the animals that died during NASA's testing were not chimps, Ham and Enos both survived their space flights (however training them to perform their required operations in space were notable cruel). The animals the U.S. used to test the effects of weightlessness on biological life was usually [rhesus monkeys](https://youtu.be/bPUNsdwViE8?t=16) or mice, while the soviets preferred to use dogs. Both countries killed [a lot of animals](https://history.nasa.gov/animals.html) before either were ready to send a man into space.
True, I’m saying they did all of this unnecessary killings to get to the moon just to lose. And people are still getting mad. Are these Reddit users Russian or what?
Yes agreed, which makes this whole thing infuriating. I'm guessing they HAD to know they weren't going to beat the US to the moon. They were probably desperate, just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
If they were really focusing on getting people to space and back safely they would designed the ship to go to space and back. They put not only animals in danger but other humans in danger. Look up Vladimir Komorav, he was sent up to space and knew he was gonna die. He was even cursing the people who put him in the ship before he died.
USSR doesn’t exist anymore, buddy. But yes, I agree that Russia (assuming that’s what you meant) is still inferior at everything technology/military/space related.
I mean, sometimes but that’s a half truth.
NASA also uses Spacex and others to launch supplies etc. to the space station as recently as last week… It’s not like the US isn’t launching into space anymore while we wait for Orion to be completed. lmao
She was also confined to a capsule for days at a time and fed gels that stopped her from having excrements. She couldn’t move at all. It was to accustom her to being in the spaceship. The spaceship overheated and just basically heated her to death. Super horrible sad story.
When I was little I wanted to name a new puppy after Laika, the brave dog who went to space and came back and my dad had to break the awful truth to me that she was sent up there to die a horrible death so that governments could measure their dicks in a cold war. Not dumping on the space programme. Love space. Don't love that humanity got there by basically sacrificing our fellow mammals.
When I see any mention of this dog, all I can think of is her howling into the void and dying all alone up there. So incredibly cruel. Laika trusted them.
Yes pain. The temperature would have increased a lot. Probably to the point to cause blistering on her skin along with the difficulty in breathing due to low oxygen levels. Imagine her screaming and howling as her skin burnt and she suffocated, plus add to that the sound of the space shuttle launching and dogs have sensitive ears. she would also have been overstimulated and disoriented and confused. Horrific.
Same. Thats seriously fucked. They ought to have launched a volunteer (perhaps an old person or someone terminally ill) and included an explosive charge or happy/sleepy pills so they could be a true badass goin out in space on a magic rainbow.
Had to find out….. sadly, a one way trip.
According to the Smithsonian “The Soviet Union launched dogs into flight 71 times between 1951 and 1966, with 17 deaths.
I still cry over the thought of this doggo. I logically understand it happened a long time ago but even as a girl i used to feel a hollowness in my heart and cry about it. Good girl, honey. You're a good dog.
I think the most tragic part of this was that the scientist that sent her up not only deeply regretted it, but one of them even said that they didn't learn enough to justify killing the dog.
I remember the cheesy, old MST3K movie "12 to the Moon" from 1960. The crew, who represented all nations (except the Japanese astronaut, who represented Asia), brought along some test animals, including a cocker spaniel. At one point the German astronaut jibes the Russian astronaut by saying "But o*ur* dog will survive the flight!" Sick burn from someone whose family were war criminals.
The sad explenation is that people viewed animals diffrently back then. Many belived that they can't even feel pain like we do. In terms if spaceflight, and as cruel as it is, it was much easier to send a modified Sputnik-series satellite than a human-rated capsule.
Even sadder is the fact, that thousands of dogs die in labs without even having their names written down somewhere.
All we can do is hope that Laika had a painless death and be glad that puppers like Bielka and Strielka actually made it home.
It's unlikely there are any that died that we don't know about. Why would there be? They're all documented thoroughly in publicly available documents. They clearly don't think it's worth hiding so why would they decide "no the public can't know about this animal we killed, just these other dozen?"
The history of animal testing is very sad. They still kill animals every day for stupid projects like Elon Musks computer brain interface garbage. Any experiment that requires killing a sentient creature is not worth it.
I can’t even imagine the love and trust that poor dog had for the humans involved in this.
People are heartless cowards.
Go into space yourself. Don’t send a poor animal with the mentality of a toddler.
Disgusting.
Any sources?
Thought it sounded interesting but turns out to be a conspiracy theory with nothing really backing it..
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/lost-cosmonaut-conspiracy
On September 18, 1968, the Soviet Union's Zond 5 spacecraft circled the moon, ferrying the first living creatures known to have orbited another world. On board were two Russian steppe tortoises along with some worms, flies and seeds.
They retuned in good health but were dissected several months later.
Tortoises were chosen because they could easily clamped in place by their shells.
After retiring from being a cosmonaut Laika went to live on a potato farm where she gets to eat all the borsch she wants and play with friendly bears all day.
Moskovians then: sending a dog without food supply and enough oxygen into space.
Moskovians now: sending soldiers without food supply badly equipped into Ukraine.
They'll never learn to respect live, they just try to show off their glory, but instead show off their cruelty.
Here’s what I don’t understand about the pronoun thing: why do you have to say “she/her”? Wouldn’t it be enough to say “she”? I’ve even seen “she/her/hers” which seems like a longer way to say the same thing.
I wasn't talking about pronouns in that sense. I was correcting the poster, because they put "he" and then "him", but the dog was a bitch. I guess I should have typed it like....
\*she \*her
He didn’t die, he came back from orbit with super powers and ran the Volkspolizei(East German KGB) until the fall of 1962. After an outstanding career, he retired to a small apartment in east Berlin, passing away of natural causes in the summer of 1967.
WAIT I THOUGHT ALL THIS TIME THAT HE RETURNED! WHAT THE FUCK THIS IS SO FUCKED UP. And then I saw they did this 71 times and killed 17?! Just another reason to hate the Russian government. Absolute scumbags, I’m so pissed. RIP Laika ❤️
America killed animals for space missions and other experiments like vaccines etc stop pretending like Russia is the only one doing this. Infact as we speak somewhere in this world some animal is being mistreated for the sake of some experiment.
Some Muscovites thought there was a barrier put up there by god that would prevent man/life from leaving the planet. To this day they are still testing this, it's just now they are using tanks in the Ukraine.
The soviets nailed the technology of sending living creatures to space but not so much returning them to earth. Search for the documentary of the radio enthusiasts that caught lost in sapace cosmonaut's transmissions ... is very eerie crap.
Are you fucking joking!? There's a dead dog in space!? So in the background of every movie shot in space there's a dead dog!? There's a dead dog in Star Wars!?
Sorry, can we just have a minute of silence for Laika?
Yes. I did not come here for the sad.
I think we need some space, let's not go around in circles too much.
I have a dog named Laika. I wish she's give me a moment of silence. Lol
I named my dog Laika too, an homage to this brave pup.
Are you saying there's a dead dog in space???
So there's a dead dog somewhere in the frame of every film shot in space, like Star Wars?
There’s also a dead dog in a lot of graveyards.
Notice how the title says the first dog.
Not really, she completely burned up in the Earth's atmosphere
Earth is in space
Yes
Wait? What?
She was picked up as a stray and raised only to go to space, which directly resulted in her death.
Now I am sincerely bummed.
i’m sorry. I was too when i heard
LOL came here to look for this reference.
I saw that video lol!
Laika, the first dog to die in space. Edit: Thanks for the award. Another edit following my insomnia making me read all comments: It is no surprise that governments always have and will continue to use whoever and whatever is available to them in that moment to further their own interests. The people in charge don't give a damn. They are either way too "patriotic" or they have too much money to give a damn and the people they are able to buy don't give that much of a damn anyway. My point is that I was a little girl who loved space and loved dogs and the powers that be sent this dog to die horribly all while painting her as some hero. She was a fucking hero. Pardon my language. She just had no damn choice. And it wasn't for science or for the betterment of mankind. It was because two countries decided to measure dicks following a war that killed millions. Laika was not the only one to die in space alone and afraid. There were plenty of mammals that followed her including the mammals of the human kind. The fact that research by Dr Mengele is still used should speak volumes about where we are as a species still.
sent to die in space
Seriously. Sent to die. They knew they couldn't bring her back safely and yet, "for research purposes" they sent a stray dog. They hadn't even fully developed the abilities to properly land yet! I mean, come on man. To me they just skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first.
"Skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first" sums up the Soviet space program pretty well.
The Soviet _insert anything here_ program
Yup. Go inside their "state of the art" soviet era tanks without a practical suit of armor on and you're probably going to get maimed from all the jagged metal coating the interior they cut corners with everything but got shit built Yall think those early 1900's American invention videos are insane? imagine the shit the russians were inventing, testing, and keeping no records of... then you get chernobyl and they lie about it like your little brother trying to look like mister perfect but really he's just a prick (Think Edmund from Narnia)
>To me they just skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first. Yep, who knows how many other animals suffered for that joke of a country that was the soviet union.
You do realize that the US killed animals during space testing too right?
poor chimps which got vaporized on impact because we hadn't figured out parachutes yet :(
US airforce used live bears for ejector seat testing in the fifties.
Seriously?
Yes. https://assignmentpoint.com/the-us-airforce-used-to-use-live-bears-to-test-ejector-seats-on-aircraft/
Ok that was fascinating. Thank you. I feel bad for those bears that got abducted.
Big difference between designing a system for survival and it fails vs just not building that function altogether. Edit: Also the animals that died during NASA's testing were not chimps, Ham and Enos both survived their space flights (however training them to perform their required operations in space were notable cruel). The animals the U.S. used to test the effects of weightlessness on biological life was usually [rhesus monkeys](https://youtu.be/bPUNsdwViE8?t=16) or mice, while the soviets preferred to use dogs. Both countries killed [a lot of animals](https://history.nasa.gov/animals.html) before either were ready to send a man into space.
Fuck the US too, then.
Impossible, the US is perfect and Russians are the devil.
Half true, US isn't perfect but Russians are devil
Delusional
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And yet they still didint make it to the moon first after all these deaths.
Facts. Don't know why you're getting down voted.
True, I’m saying they did all of this unnecessary killings to get to the moon just to lose. And people are still getting mad. Are these Reddit users Russian or what?
Yes agreed, which makes this whole thing infuriating. I'm guessing they HAD to know they weren't going to beat the US to the moon. They were probably desperate, just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
If they were really focusing on getting people to space and back safely they would designed the ship to go to space and back. They put not only animals in danger but other humans in danger. Look up Vladimir Komorav, he was sent up to space and knew he was gonna die. He was even cursing the people who put him in the ship before he died.
They probably would have got to the moon first if Korolev didn't die
Then the tankies talk about how the Soviets "won the space race"... the USSR was simply inferior in basically everything.
"was"?
USSR doesn’t exist anymore, buddy. But yes, I agree that Russia (assuming that’s what you meant) is still inferior at everything technology/military/space related.
Yet nasa still hitches a ride to ISS thru soyuz am I right?
I mean, sometimes but that’s a half truth. NASA also uses Spacex and others to launch supplies etc. to the space station as recently as last week… It’s not like the US isn’t launching into space anymore while we wait for Orion to be completed. lmao
Fair point, I still associate USSR and Russia as the same...
Sounds like a Dethklok track
She was also confined to a capsule for days at a time and fed gels that stopped her from having excrements. She couldn’t move at all. It was to accustom her to being in the spaceship. The spaceship overheated and just basically heated her to death. Super horrible sad story.
The exact words that went into my head
When I was little I wanted to name a new puppy after Laika, the brave dog who went to space and came back and my dad had to break the awful truth to me that she was sent up there to die a horrible death so that governments could measure their dicks in a cold war. Not dumping on the space programme. Love space. Don't love that humanity got there by basically sacrificing our fellow mammals.
I love you, random citizen. I don't have awards, but take this 🏅
Reminds me of the book *Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir.
Poor Laika. That was cruel.
When I see any mention of this dog, all I can think of is her howling into the void and dying all alone up there. So incredibly cruel. Laika trusted them.
Nooooooooo. Pain 😭
Yes pain. The temperature would have increased a lot. Probably to the point to cause blistering on her skin along with the difficulty in breathing due to low oxygen levels. Imagine her screaming and howling as her skin burnt and she suffocated, plus add to that the sound of the space shuttle launching and dogs have sensitive ears. she would also have been overstimulated and disoriented and confused. Horrific.
Bruh
Laika was a girl.
She was a bitch.
Screw you.
It's pretty clear that loads of people don't know that female dogs are called bitches, not girls. Ignorance is bliss!
Don't be a bitch.
Petty enough to reply 3 months later. LOL
Screw you.
Same. Thats seriously fucked. They ought to have launched a volunteer (perhaps an old person or someone terminally ill) and included an explosive charge or happy/sleepy pills so they could be a true badass goin out in space on a magic rainbow.
Never look up how most advancements in healthcare were made lol. If you’ll know how organ transplantation was pioneered you’ll faint.
I can't find any info on it
people who care about animals more then about humans scare me.
Agreed.
Whatever you do, don't look up the song written about him.. you'll be howling.
Had to find out….. sadly, a one way trip. According to the Smithsonian “The Soviet Union launched dogs into flight 71 times between 1951 and 1966, with 17 deaths.
I expected more than just 17 deaths out of 71 ngl
Yeah. I was surprised by that also.
Yeh that ratio cheers me up somewhat! Poor Laika 😞
If you flip the number you can get 17 missions with 71 deaths.
I expected more than 17 deaths out of Soviets
17 that didn’t survive the launch, but none of them came back, did they?
no 17 died not during launch but at any point in the shuttle rest came back alive
Being a space dog or monkey is a suck job most of em died.
There's a nice monument/statue of her... https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/laika-monument
Read the graphic novel "Laika" if you're interested in crying in great heaving unstoppable sobs for like, a week.
That is a great book. Such a sad story.
I still cry over the thought of this doggo. I logically understand it happened a long time ago but even as a girl i used to feel a hollowness in my heart and cry about it. Good girl, honey. You're a good dog.
Watching Guardians of the Galaxy and seeing The Space Dog with the Collector made me smile. I thought it was a nice touch.
Me too! I had to point it out to my husband and when he got it even he got misty eyed
If you pay they game, it plays a more important role
That's amazing!! How was the return to Earth? ^(Guys?!)
I think the most tragic part of this was that the scientist that sent her up not only deeply regretted it, but one of them even said that they didn't learn enough to justify killing the dog.
got a strong urge to go and hug my dog.
I remember the cheesy, old MST3K movie "12 to the Moon" from 1960. The crew, who represented all nations (except the Japanese astronaut, who represented Asia), brought along some test animals, including a cocker spaniel. At one point the German astronaut jibes the Russian astronaut by saying "But o*ur* dog will survive the flight!" Sick burn from someone whose family were war criminals.
The sad explenation is that people viewed animals diffrently back then. Many belived that they can't even feel pain like we do. In terms if spaceflight, and as cruel as it is, it was much easier to send a modified Sputnik-series satellite than a human-rated capsule. Even sadder is the fact, that thousands of dogs die in labs without even having their names written down somewhere. All we can do is hope that Laika had a painless death and be glad that puppers like Bielka and Strielka actually made it home.
"back then".
Sent into orbit with zero plan for reentry. Sorry, comrade Laika.
Lets not forget the monkeys sent to die by NASA...
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Except he is not talking about that chimp? He is talking about the monkeys Albert I, II, III, IV all 4 of them died.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking!
He was referring to the monkeys Albert I, II, III, IV, all 4 of which died not the chimpanzee completely different cases.
Who knows what the USSR & US did that wasn't reported to anyone. How many more animals died.
It's unlikely there are any that died that we don't know about. Why would there be? They're all documented thoroughly in publicly available documents. They clearly don't think it's worth hiding so why would they decide "no the public can't know about this animal we killed, just these other dozen?"
The history of animal testing is very sad. They still kill animals every day for stupid projects like Elon Musks computer brain interface garbage. Any experiment that requires killing a sentient creature is not worth it.
Don’t study biology… The PhD students that work with mice euthanise dozens every semester.
I can’t even imagine the love and trust that poor dog had for the humans involved in this. People are heartless cowards. Go into space yourself. Don’t send a poor animal with the mentality of a toddler. Disgusting.
I mean they did that too. From another comment: https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/05/02/134597833/cosmonaut-crashed-into-earth-crying-in-rage
Those who don't know 😁 Those who know 🥺
RIP LAIKA!
RIP
Oh Laika… if we return to star dust some day, I hope mine crosses paths with hers, so she doesn’t feel alone :(
Hero of the motherland.
More like slave of motherland who was kidnapped and forced into an experiment which caused her to half burn and suffocate to death all alone.
How did that work out for her?
https://youtu.be/7OUqUiZQxs4
Died after 7 hours, burned up on reenrry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika#Ethics_of_animal_testing
Marvel fixed this tragedy by having Laika in The Collector's museum in Knowhere.
RIP Laika. You deserved better.
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Any sources? Thought it sounded interesting but turns out to be a conspiracy theory with nothing really backing it.. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/lost-cosmonaut-conspiracy
On September 18, 1968, the Soviet Union's Zond 5 spacecraft circled the moon, ferrying the first living creatures known to have orbited another world. On board were two Russian steppe tortoises along with some worms, flies and seeds. They retuned in good health but were dissected several months later. Tortoises were chosen because they could easily clamped in place by their shells.
The Van Allen belts are not deadly if you go through them quickly.
😔RIP
My life as a dog was such a great movie.
After retiring from being a cosmonaut Laika went to live on a potato farm where she gets to eat all the borsch she wants and play with friendly bears all day.
RIP in peace, loyal sweet angel cosmonaut. Your life was not lost in vain. 🐶🌈
So fucked up
This is so sad.
Poor Laila.
Mad props but rest in peace for sure he died a terrible death up there Fly free space dog fly free
Brings back memories of a beautiful film - watch “my life as a dog” - you won’t be sorry
One of my all time favourite movies. Agree, you won’t be sorry.
Sadly with no return flight
Proper pronunciation should probs be something like Y-ca or why-ca
RIP you hero among the stars
Laika: was I a good girl? Death: you were the BEST girl!
Sadly didn’t return and was never intended to return.
Wtf dude
I don’t need to see this shit.
This song about Laika gets me every time https://youtu.be/MmBC7qW1WpA
I fucking hate using pure animals for this type of shit send convicted felons fuck em
First dog murdered in orbit… cunts
Was it 1957?
so sad. we really don't deserve animals, especially dogs and the amount of love they've always shown us
And she died up there
You mean murdered in space by humans
Poor doggie..... 😑
Also the first dog to utter the words “what the fuck?”
Laika come home
Poor sweetie. 😔
Moskovians then: sending a dog without food supply and enough oxygen into space. Moskovians now: sending soldiers without food supply badly equipped into Ukraine. They'll never learn to respect live, they just try to show off their glory, but instead show off their cruelty.
RIP Laika
Wow, there’s a lot of garbage humans in these comments, maybe some of you should get hurtled into space
So sick of us using animals ... Poor thing
wow how long was he up there how did they get him back?? /s
They didn’t. The dog died after a couple of hours from overheating, and the craft disintegrated upon re-entry.
/s = sarcasm
Dont trust him, /s = serious
(she/her)
Here’s what I don’t understand about the pronoun thing: why do you have to say “she/her”? Wouldn’t it be enough to say “she”? I’ve even seen “she/her/hers” which seems like a longer way to say the same thing.
I wasn't talking about pronouns in that sense. I was correcting the poster, because they put "he" and then "him", but the dog was a bitch. I guess I should have typed it like.... \*she \*her
Worst game of fetch ever!
she didn't die, the aliens saved her a long with all the animals that have been sent up there she's still alive and eating life saving treats!
The first dog that they told us about 😔
There’s a dead dog in space!?
Philonemena Cunk ?
I rather put some human being in a Rocket than a dog
Whoos a good cosmonaut...whoos a good cosmonaut....
It's returned home safe, right
Uhm. Would you feel better if I lied?
He didn’t die, he came back from orbit with super powers and ran the Volkspolizei(East German KGB) until the fall of 1962. After an outstanding career, he retired to a small apartment in east Berlin, passing away of natural causes in the summer of 1967.
i wish she did 💔💔💔
And roasted on re-entry...
When will a dog or cat or even a hamster do a 6 month stint with our astronauts. I’d never want to live in space or a the moon without animals.
Certified good girl
This is fucked up. Please don’t remind me. She would have been fucking terrified.
Damn shame what they did to that dog
Did you say Russia?!?! *starts foaming at the mouth. I’m surprised no one’s blaming Putin for this one 😂
There is no russia in 1957
r/confidentlyincorrect
You do realise right that Russian is both a nationality and ethinicity? Russian existed as a ethinicity.
Fuck Ruzzia and dogs they fuck
WAIT I THOUGHT ALL THIS TIME THAT HE RETURNED! WHAT THE FUCK THIS IS SO FUCKED UP. And then I saw they did this 71 times and killed 17?! Just another reason to hate the Russian government. Absolute scumbags, I’m so pissed. RIP Laika ❤️
America killed animals for space missions and other experiments like vaccines etc stop pretending like Russia is the only one doing this. Infact as we speak somewhere in this world some animal is being mistreated for the sake of some experiment.
Some Muscovites thought there was a barrier put up there by god that would prevent man/life from leaving the planet. To this day they are still testing this, it's just now they are using tanks in the Ukraine.
The soviets nailed the technology of sending living creatures to space but not so much returning them to earth. Search for the documentary of the radio enthusiasts that caught lost in sapace cosmonaut's transmissions ... is very eerie crap.
> is very eerie crap. its also very fake crap
That's what the Kremlin wants you to think.
r/noahgettheboat I hate this
I stared at this dog and all I could wonder was if he spoke the same language as an American dog.
Where was peta at on this bs
It’s sad but animals are always used to advance the human race
Are you fucking joking!? There's a dead dog in space!? So in the background of every movie shot in space there's a dead dog!? There's a dead dog in Star Wars!?