Sputnik 2

Sputnik 2 , or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (PS-2, <a href="/facts/Russian_language/ETXrTgHV">Russian</a>: Простейший Спутник 2, Simplest Satellite 2),: 155  launched on 3 November 1957, was the second <a href="/facts/Spacecraft/YQqQaUw0">spacecraft</a> launched into <a href="/facts/Geocentric_orbit/geC4BF1x">Earth orbit</a>, and the first to carry an animal into orbit, a <a href="/facts/Soviet_space_dogs/qu8qsm4N">Soviet space dog</a> named <a href="/facts/Laika/h2a9Iyqe">Laika</a>.
Launched by the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> via a modified <a href="/facts/R-7_Semyorka/g7Qm3GbS">R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile</a>, Sputnik 2 was a 4-metre-high (13 ft) cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 metres (6.6 ft) that weighed around 500 kilograms (1,100 lb), though it was not designed to separate from the rocket core that brought it to orbit, bringing the total mass in orbit to 7.79 tonnes (17,200 lb). It contained several compartments for <a href="/facts/Radio_transmitter/nFYghtKv">radio transmitters</a>, a <a href="/facts/Telemetry/Mz9czXTl">telemetry</a> system, a programming unit, a regeneration and <a href="/facts/Temperature_control/WsIXmkSJ">temperature-control</a> system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained the dog Laika.
Though Laika died shortly after reaching orbit, Sputnik 2 marked another huge success for the Soviet Union in <a href="/facts/The_Space_Race/9fPV4LUq">The Space Race</a>, lofting huge payload for the time, sending an animal into orbit, and, for the first time, returning scientific data from above the Earth's atmosphere for an extended period. The satellite reentered Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958.

Sputnik 2 open-in-new

Sputnik 2