Sputnik 2, Laika, and the Soviet Space Dog Program
Failure To Launch
English - July 19, 2022 01:14 - 1 hour - 90.5 MBAviation Leisure Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Part Three: The First (and Worst) Satellite - Sputnik Panic
This episode, we take a look at the history of Sputnik 2 as well as the the Soviet answer to Project Albert: the Canine Cosmonaut program.
Topics covered include:
- How Korolev designed, built, and launched a satellite in less than a month.
- Why the Soviets only picked stray female mutts to fly on their rockets.
- Why there was no reason for Laika to die except Khrushchev's ego.
Show Notes:
Red Moon Rising by Matthew Brzezinski
Animals in Space by Colin Burgess and Chris Dubbs