Soviet space dogs

thumb|Original Soviet space dog environmentally controlled safety module used on [[sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights]]

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet space program used dogs for suborbital and orbital space flights as proof-of-concept to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The Soviet space program typically used female dogs due to their anatomical compatibility with the spacesuit. Similarly, they used mix-breed dogs due to their apparent hardiness.

During this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for numerous dogs. Some dogs flew more than once. Many missions were successful, but some resulted in fatalities, including Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth, who on 3 November 1957 was sent on a one-way orbital mission aboard Sputnik 2.

Training

Dogs were the preferred animal for the experiments because scientists felt dogs were well suited to endure long periods of inactivity. As part of their training, they were confined in small boxes for 15–20 days at a time. Stray dogs, rather than animals accustomed to living in a house, were chosen because the scientists felt they would be able to tolerate the rigors and extreme stresses of space flight better than other dogs. Female dogs were preferred because of their temperament, and because the suit the dogs wore in order to collect urine and feces was equipped with a special device designed to work only with females.

Their training included being placed in rocket-launch simulators and pressure chambers, riding in centrifuges designed to mimic the high acceleration of liftoff, and being kept in small enclosures for extended periods of time to prepare them for the confines of the space module.

Suborbital flights

Dogs were flown to an altitude of on board 15 scientific flights on R-1 rockets (itself a copy of the German V-2) from 1951 to 1956. The dogs wore pressure suits with acrylic glass bubble helmets. From 1957 to 1960, 11 flights with dogs were made on the R-2A series (developed from the R-1 missile) which flew to about . Three flights were made to an altitude of about on R-5A rockets in 1958. In the R-2 and R-5 rockets, the dogs were contained in a pressured cabin.

Dezik, Tsygan, and Lisa

Dezik (Дезик) and Tsygan (Цыган, "Gypsy") were the first dogs to make a suborbital flight and were successfully recovered on 22 July 1951.

Smelaya and Ryzhik

Smelaya (Смелая, "Brave" or "Courageous") made a flight with a dog named Ryzhik (Рыжик, "Ginger") on 19 August 1951 Snezhinka was renamed Zhemchuzhnaya (Жемчужная, "Pearly") after the first flight.

Otvazhnaya also made two flights with another dog, Palma-2 (Пальма, "Palm"), on 2 and 13 August 1958. She made at least five flights between 1958-1960, all of which resulted in safe recovery of the animals.

Albina and Kozyavka

Albina (Альбина) and Kozyavka (Козявка "Little Gnat") made 2 flights on 7 and 14 June 1956

Shutka and Kometa

Shutka (Шутка, "Joke") and Kometa (Кометка, "Comet"), along with mice and other small animals, were launched on 22 December 1960 and were to make an orbital flight as a part of the Vostok programme. However their mission was marked by a string of equipment failures.

The third stage of the rocket malfunctioned, and the spacecraft did not reach orbit. The emergency escape system separated the capsule at an altitude of approximately 214 km (133 mi), after which it followed a ballistic trajectory back to Earth. The spacecraft was equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, but it failed to activate. The capsule appeared to have landed safely in Siberia, but the self-destruct mechanism, which could be triggered by an errant trajectory, could also be set off by a 60-hour timer. A team was quickly sent out to locate and recover the capsule. Upon arrival at the landing site, it was discovered that the capsule containing the dogs had not ejected from the recoverable spacecraft. The ejection rockets fired at the same time as the hatch due to a timing error, causing the mechanism to jam.

Shutka was also known as Damka (Дамка, "Queen of Checkers") and Zhemchuzhina (Жемчужина, "Pearl"); Kometa was also known as Krasavka (Красавка, "Little Beauty" or "Belladonna"), Zhulka (Жулька), Zhemchuzhnaya (Жемчужная, "Pearly") and Snezhinka (Снежинка, "Snowflake"). After this incident Kometa was adopted by Oleg Gazenko, a leading Soviet scientist working with animals used in space flights. She went on to have puppies and continued living with Gazenko and his family until her death 14 years later.

!Outcome

!class=unsortable|

|data-sort-value="15 August 1951"|15 and 28 August 1951 (2 flights)

|Mishka (Мишка, "Little Bear"), Chizhik (Чижик, "Siskin")

|Recovered safely on the first flight, both dogs died on the second flight

| rowspan="2" |

|data-sort-value="26 June 1954"|26 June 1954

|Lisa-2, Ryzhik-2

|Recovered safely

|2 July 1954

|Mishka-2, Damka

|Recovered safely, Mishka-2 died

| rowspan="2" |

Laika's true cause of death was not made public until October 2002; officials previously gave reports that she died when the oxygen supply ran out. At a Moscow press conference in 1998 Oleg Gazenko, a senior Soviet scientist involved in the project, stated "The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We did not learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog...".

Belka and Strelka

Belka (Белка, literally, "Squirrel", or alternatively "Whitey") and Strelka (Стрелка, "Little Arrow") were launched on 19 August 1960 and spent a day in orbit aboard Korabl-Sputnik 2 (Sputnik 5) before safely returning to Earth. and gave birth to many descendants.

Pchyolka and Mushka

Pchyolka (Пчёлка, "Little Bee") and Mushka (Мушка, "Little Fly") were launched on 1 December 1960 and spent a day in orbit on board Korabl-Sputnik-3 (Sputnik 6) with "other animals", plants and insects. Both dogs died in the capsule's destruction.

Mushka was one of the three dogs trained for Sputnik 2 and was used during ground tests.), who was named by Yuri Gagarin, made one orbit on board Korabl-Sputnik 5 on 25 March 1961 with a wooden cosmonaut dummy, and other animals in the final practice flight before Gagarin's historic flight on 12 April.

References

External links

A book chapter about biological experiments in geophysical rockets
Space Today Online article about animals sent into space
One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps, Official Documentary Site Documentary features rare footage of Laika and others.