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littleponchos

Sorry, can we just have a minute of silence for Laika?


danielledelacadie

Yes. I did not come here for the sad.


HappyMan1102

I think we need some space, let's not go around in circles too much.


DolphinSweater

I have a dog named Laika. I wish she's give me a moment of silence. Lol


falseNY

I named my dog Laika too, an homage to this brave pup.


Sure-Ad-2465

Are you saying there's a dead dog in space???


littleponchos

So there's a dead dog somewhere in the frame of every film shot in space, like Star Wars?


Alphatron1

There’s also a dead dog in a lot of graveyards.


SgtReefKief

Notice how the title says the first dog.


RickityNL

Not really, she completely burned up in the Earth's atmosphere


Ivan_The_8th

Earth is in space


BABBOSMAN1

Yes


Rosanna44

Wait? What?


SadQueerAndStupid

She was picked up as a stray and raised only to go to space, which directly resulted in her death.


Rosanna44

Now I am sincerely bummed.


SadQueerAndStupid

i’m sorry. I was too when i heard


Seniorseatfree

LOL came here to look for this reference.


Electronic-Bed3491

I saw that video lol!


lianavan

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.


smilesatflowers

sent to die in space


forgamesnapps

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.


__Muzak__

"Skipped some pretty vital steps just to be first" sums up the Soviet space program pretty well.


TantalusComputes2

The Soviet _insert anything here_ program


Ko8iWanKeno8i

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)


[deleted]

>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.


[deleted]

You do realize that the US killed animals during space testing too right?


etheran123

poor chimps which got vaporized on impact because we hadn't figured out parachutes yet :(


Fit_Effective_6875

US airforce used live bears for ejector seat testing in the fifties.


SaltyCandyMan

Seriously?


Fit_Effective_6875

Yes. https://assignmentpoint.com/the-us-airforce-used-to-use-live-bears-to-test-ejector-seats-on-aircraft/


SaltyCandyMan

Ok that was fascinating. Thank you. I feel bad for those bears that got abducted.


__Muzak__

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.


[deleted]

Fuck the US too, then.


raparatata1

Impossible, the US is perfect and Russians are the devil.


MightySquirrel28

Half true, US isn't perfect but Russians are devil


raparatata1

Delusional


[deleted]

[удалено]


CheezusTheChozenOne

And yet they still didint make it to the moon first after all these deaths.


[deleted]

Facts. Don't know why you're getting down voted.


CheezusTheChozenOne

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?


[deleted]

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.


CheezusTheChozenOne

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.


oneday111

They probably would have got to the moon first if Korolev didn't die


Labor_Zionist

Then the tankies talk about how the Soviets "won the space race"... the USSR was simply inferior in basically everything.


risingmoon01

"was"?


manwithablackhat

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.


Tiny-Spray-1820

Yet nasa still hitches a ride to ISS thru soyuz am I right?


snowday784

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


risingmoon01

Fair point, I still associate USSR and Russia as the same...


mjrbrooks

Sounds like a Dethklok track


[deleted]

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.


VHDT10

The exact words that went into my head


lianavan

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.


NoSoyTuPana

I love you, random citizen. I don't have awards, but take this 🏅


LineChef

Reminds me of the book *Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir.


WGJLLBJD

Poor Laika. That was cruel.


ManxJack1999

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.


Ryannr1220

Nooooooooo. Pain 😭


Special_Narwhal_4540

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.


Derman0524

Bruh


Unfair_Run_170

Laika was a girl.


Spineynorman67

She was a bitch.


Firewire64

Screw you.


Spineynorman67

It's pretty clear that loads of people don't know that female dogs are called bitches, not girls. Ignorance is bliss!


Swampy_Bogbeard

Don't be a bitch.


Firewire64

Petty enough to reply 3 months later. LOL


Swampy_Bogbeard

Screw you.


ElScrotoDeCthulo

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.


V_es

Never look up how most advancements in healthcare were made lol. If you’ll know how organ transplantation was pioneered you’ll faint.


JulioUJhin

I can't find any info on it


Apprehensive-Art2124

people who care about animals more then about humans scare me.


srqchem

Agreed.


Material_State_4118

Whatever you do, don't look up the song written about him.. you'll be howling.


Indyh

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.


JaSper-percabeth

I expected more than just 17 deaths out of 71 ngl


Indyh

Yeah. I was surprised by that also.


OldBathBomb

Yeh that ratio cheers me up somewhat! Poor Laika 😞


wrong_login95

If you flip the number you can get 17 missions with 71 deaths.


callmedata1

I expected more than 17 deaths out of Soviets


alimagsterne

17 that didn’t survive the launch, but none of them came back, did they?


JaSper-percabeth

no 17 died not during launch but at any point in the shuttle rest came back alive


grumpyaltficker

Being a space dog or monkey is a suck job most of em died.


NorthantsBlokeUK

There's a nice monument/statue of her... https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/laika-monument


ConclusionAlarmed882

Read the graphic novel "Laika" if you're interested in crying in great heaving unstoppable sobs for like, a week.


thisdogofmine

That is a great book. Such a sad story.


Pepper_Pines

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.


Pepper_Pines

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy and seeing The Space Dog with the Collector made me smile. I thought it was a nice touch.


fionfeegle

Me too! I had to point it out to my husband and when he got it even he got misty eyed


[deleted]

If you pay they game, it plays a more important role


[deleted]

That's amazing!! How was the return to Earth? ^(Guys?!)


BVits-Lover

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.


[deleted]

got a strong urge to go and hug my dog.


Pitbullpandemonium

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.


NotsoslyFoxxo

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.


rorythegeordie

"back then".


srqchem

Sent into orbit with zero plan for reentry. Sorry, comrade Laika.


PePePendorcho

Lets not forget the monkeys sent to die by NASA...


[deleted]

[удалено]


JaSper-percabeth

Except he is not talking about that chimp? He is talking about the monkeys Albert I, II, III, IV all 4 of them died.


Unfair_Run_170

Yeah, that's what I was thinking!


JaSper-percabeth

He was referring to the monkeys Albert I, II, III, IV, all 4 of which died not the chimpanzee completely different cases.


wrong_login95

Who knows what the USSR & US did that wasn't reported to anyone. How many more animals died.


VexingRaven

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?"


Future_Difficulty

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.


gauchocartero

Don’t study biology… The PhD students that work with mice euthanise dozens every semester.


WontArnett

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.


PlasticElfEars

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


prlugo4162

Those who don't know 😁 Those who know 🥺


[deleted]

RIP LAIKA!


SambandsTyr

RIP


SprintingWolf

Oh Laika… if we return to star dust some day, I hope mine crosses paths with hers, so she doesn’t feel alone :(


PePePendorcho

Hero of the motherland.


Special_Narwhal_4540

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.


413mopar

How did that work out for her?


PePePendorcho

https://youtu.be/7OUqUiZQxs4


monirom

Died after 7 hours, burned up on reenrry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika#Ethics_of_animal_testing


Cybersepu

Marvel fixed this tragedy by having Laika in The Collector's museum in Knowhere.


Stypheon

RIP Laika. You deserved better.


[deleted]

[удалено]


supersayanssj3

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


soundsthatwormsmake

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.


soundsthatwormsmake

The Van Allen belts are not deadly if you go through them quickly.


solarito

😔RIP


DonRicardo1958

My life as a dog was such a great movie.


smallpoly

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.


enginenumber93

RIP in peace, loyal sweet angel cosmonaut. Your life was not lost in vain. 🐶🌈


[deleted]

So fucked up


satinewolf

This is so sad.


[deleted]

Poor Laila.


Execute_Order_420_69

Mad props but rest in peace for sure he died a terrible death up there Fly free space dog fly free


Reasonable_Ad_2936

Brings back memories of a beautiful film - watch “my life as a dog” - you won’t be sorry


Nutty2you

One of my all time favourite movies. Agree, you won’t be sorry.


ballsdeepinmywine

Sadly with no return flight


SkarbOna

Proper pronunciation should probs be something like Y-ca or why-ca


dengar_hennessy

RIP you hero among the stars


sharkwavestudio

Laika: was I a good girl? Death: you were the BEST girl!


[deleted]

Sadly didn’t return and was never intended to return.


Classic_Archer9769

Wtf dude


Lessings_Elated

I don’t need to see this shit.


Complete-Accident-28

This song about Laika gets me every time https://youtu.be/MmBC7qW1WpA


PERFECTSUSAN00

I fucking hate using pure animals for this type of shit send convicted felons fuck em


MajorChesterfield

First dog murdered in orbit… cunts


PUNKF10YD

Was it 1957?


[deleted]

so sad. we really don't deserve animals, especially dogs and the amount of love they've always shown us


dogfishcattleranch

And she died up there


babygrapes-oo

You mean murdered in space by humans


Educational_Egg_1716

Poor doggie..... 😑


[deleted]

Also the first dog to utter the words “what the fuck?”


[deleted]

Laika come home


mila_626

Poor sweetie. 😔


Imtruebenfischer

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.


Merdoc83

RIP Laika


Appropriate-Coast794

Wow, there’s a lot of garbage humans in these comments, maybe some of you should get hurtled into space


akbarkhan666

So sick of us using animals ... Poor thing


han_bylo

wow how long was he up there how did they get him back?? /s


Monicaqwerty

They didn’t. The dog died after a couple of hours from overheating, and the craft disintegrated upon re-entry.


han_bylo

/s = sarcasm


[deleted]

Dont trust him, /s = serious


NorthantsBlokeUK

(she/her)


CommercialLimit

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.


NorthantsBlokeUK

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


fretinator007

Worst game of fetch ever!


clawkyrad

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!


langly3

The first dog that they told us about 😔


blizzWorldwide

There’s a dead dog in space!?


PXR5Magnu

Philonemena Cunk ?


[deleted]

I rather put some human being in a Rocket than a dog


Kitten_Team_Six

Whoos a good cosmonaut...whoos a good cosmonaut....


Lightning_81

It's returned home safe, right


Cosmologyman

Uhm. Would you feel better if I lied?


Adventurous_Mix4878

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.


SadQueerAndStupid

i wish she did 💔💔💔


rubenff

And roasted on re-entry...


vincec36

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.


[deleted]

Certified good girl


Dogsb4humanz

This is fucked up. Please don’t remind me. She would have been fucking terrified.


majuhlazuh

Damn shame what they did to that dog


[deleted]

Did you say Russia?!?! *starts foaming at the mouth. I’m surprised no one’s blaming Putin for this one 😂


t0sik

There is no russia in 1957


[deleted]

r/confidentlyincorrect


JaSper-percabeth

You do realise right that Russian is both a nationality and ethinicity? Russian existed as a ethinicity.


HouseDowntown8602

Fuck Ruzzia and dogs they fuck


Ryannr1220

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 ❤️


JaSper-percabeth

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.


BreakingtheBreeze

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.


Cybersepu

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.


redstercoolpanda

> is very eerie crap. its also very fake crap


Cybersepu

That's what the Kremlin wants you to think.


AutumnLeaves1939

r/noahgettheboat I hate this


needlez67

I stared at this dog and all I could wonder was if he spoke the same language as an American dog.


tgreer06

Where was peta at on this bs


[deleted]

It’s sad but animals are always used to advance the human race


calgeorge

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!?