In the autumn of 1957, the USSR accomplished another feat. For the first time in history, a mammal was launched into space orbit. However, the triumph did not work out - the world sadly met a new breakthrough into space.
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Laika was chosen as the first animal astronaut just 12 days before launch. At first the choice was between rats, mice, monkeys and dogs. Then the experts still settled on the best friends of man. According to legend, the leadership of the USSR believed that dogs were loved more than other mammals, so a hero dog would glorify the Soviet Union faster than a rat or a monkey.
They decided to take the dog from the shelter - experts believed that thoroughbred dogs were too fastidious and would not be able to withstand long in orbit. In addition, the mongrel must certainly be of a light color in order to look good in the photo. Laika was chosen by exclusion: one of the applicants was simply pitied (she carried puppies), the second was decided to be kept for pragmatic reasons, since she was regularly used in research on technological equipment. There was no one to feel sorry for Laika - she was supposed to become a “suicide passenger”.
The last victim of the October Revolution
The launch of Sputnik 2 was a somewhat spontaneous decision. After the triumphant flight of the first artificial Earth satellite on October 4, 1957, the Soviet authorities wanted to quickly consolidate their success and surprise the world with a new achievement. The 40th anniversary of the October Revolution was approaching - an excellent occasion. Almost two weeks before the new "cosmic number" from Nikita Khrushchev, they decide that now the "space animal" will "surprise" the international community. By the way, Sputnik-2 was created on the knee: there were not even any preliminary sketches. Designers designed a new spacecraft right in the shops, one might say, writing it right on the go. Of course, no one thought about the dog, which was to accomplish a feat. Everyone understood that she was doomed - the satellite was not supposed to return to Earth. The only question was how long Laika would live in space orbit.
last flight
Laika turned out to be a very docile dog. Immediately after the launch of the satellite, telemetry reported that the launch overloads pressed the dog to the container tray, while the dog behaved calmly. Since the project was prepared on the knee, no reliable life support system was created on the satellite. The designers expected that Laika would die with the end of the supply of electricity on the spacecraft - in six days. However, the dog died just a few hours later - from overheating.
"The shaggyest, loneliest, most miserable dog in the world"
So the American correspondent of The New York Times wrote about the "doomed to death" Laika the day after the flight. Similar articles sympathizing with the dog appeared all over the world. In many countries, there were protests by animal rights activists: Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was called a communist barbarian and flayer. Of course, one could talk about the "order" of the imperialists, about the envy of capitalism to socialism, but politics had nothing to do with it. The world, which the first satellite met with hope and joy, now, for the first time in history, was almost on the air in anticipation of the death of a living being. No one wanted such technological progress.
"She fell asleep"
In the meantime, the first warm-blooded cosmonaut was commemorated in the West, in the Soviet press, a few days after the actual death of the dog, they talked about her well-being. On the eighth day, they reported that communication with the satellite was lost, and even later - about the "planned euthanasia" of the animal. And here the Soviet people have already begun to wake up. The fact is that no one warned the public that the dog was doomed and would never return to Earth. The USSR media modestly kept silent about the details of the “return” from the very beginning, so the citizens sincerely waited for the heroic mongrel, thinking out ways to “land” her.
"Khrushchev into space!"
Another feat of the Soviet cosmonautics turned out to be blurred because of public opinion. Moreover, it was not only the defenders of animals in the West who spoiled it. In the USSR, for many, the feeling of patriotism also failed - "everyone felt sorry for the dog." The news of the death of a pretty mongrel with pain echoed in the hearts of many Soviet citizens. Of course, the children were the most upset. By special order, many schools conducted “explanatory work”: teachers told sentimental schoolchildren about how important space flights are for the USSR, that a dumb creature like a dog is not the most serious victim in the exploration of the Universe, and in general - an unknown mongrel now became famous to the whole world. However, the wave of discontent did not subside for a long time. There was a joke among the people that Khrushchev should fly next into space. It is curious that hundreds of letters came to the Kremlin with a proposal to award Laika posthumously with the Order of the Hero of the Soviet Union and confer a military rank. They say that the authorities even discussed these popular initiatives.
"I do not like? Then smoke!"
People in the USSR did not yet know how to work with public opinion in the "domestic market" - they were used to bringing people's feelings with the help of another "therapy". But there was a “thaw” in the yard, so it was necessary to look for more sincere ways. They decided to “relax” the country with the help of a new variety of Laika cigarettes (later cigarettes), which, apparently, according to the idea of the then “PR people”, were supposed to turn all civil sympathy for the unfortunate dog into smoke. According to the tales of the time, Khrushchev initially planned to make Laika a kind of umbrella brand: under the nickname of an animal-cosmonaut, it was planned to launch sweets, ice cream and even processed cheese. But someone with a sober mind in Khrushchev's team warned that there might be too much, so they decided to stop only at cigarettes. True, a somewhat ominous and cynical logical chain came out - "The dog burned down, and cigarettes also burn."
