looksthatkill77

Laika? odd name. Here's a little history on the name: I know it's a sad story, but all we can do is honor the dead and treat the living with respect.

Laika
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Laika (from Russian: Лайка, "Barker") was a Russian space dog that became the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit. She was launched into space on Sputnik 2, a Soviet spacecraft, on November 3, 1957. Like many other animals in space, she died during the mission, though earlier than expected.
She was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow, a mongrel female weighing approximately 6 kg (13 lb) and about 3 years old. "Laika" is in fact the Russian name for several breeds of dogs similar to the husky. Her name was changed from Kudryavka (Russian for "Little Curly"), and she was also nicknamed Zhuchka ("Little Bug") and Limonchik ("Little Lemon"). The American press dubbed her Muttnik (mutt + suffix "-nik") as a pun on Sputnik, the Russian satellite program, and some animal rights activists at the time called her Curly. Her true ancestry can never be known, although it is generally accepted that she was part husky or other Nordic breed, and possibly part terrier.
Laika died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating. The true cause of her death was not made public until decades after the flight. Previously, officials had stated that she was euthanized by poisoned food, or that she had died when her oxygen ran out. Some former Soviet scientists have since expressed regret for allowing Laika to die.[1]
Although Laika did not survive the trip, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. It paved the way for human spaceflight, and provided scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments.