You'll burn me an effigy and I'll burn you an effigy

Morning Bell

Dogs of the Soviet space programme

Well, mostly just Laika. I couldn't find much information on the others.

Apparently, there were many canines launched into space long before humans took their first voyage. Ten out of a total of 29 dogs survived. I certainly don't condone using animals in any sort of way for anything but their unfortunate experiences would have provided information necessary to preserve the lives of humans who later travelled in outer space.

This dog is wearing the first, rather rudimentary, space suit ever made. I think he pulls it off pretty well although it does look a little on the snug side for his furry form.

These two actually managed a successful journey back to Earth.

Doggy space suits:

They did voyages with bunnies too!

Aaaaand Laika. Everybody loves Laika. She's the people's heroine.

From Spacetoday.org:

"While other animals had made suborbital flights, Laika was the first animal to go into orbit. She suffered no ill effects while she was alive in an orbit at an altitude near 2,000 miles.

Laika had been a stray dog — mostly a Siberian husky and around three years old — rounded up from the Moscow streets and trained for spaceflight. She was carried aloft in a capsule which remained attached to the converted SS-6 intercontinental ballistic missile which rocketed her to orbit.

The 1,120-lb. Sputnik 2 was outfitted with scientific gauges, life-support systems, and padded walls, but was not designed for recovery. Laika was supported inside the satellite by a harness that allowed some movement and access to food and water. Electrodes transmitted vital signs including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing rate.

She captured the hearts of people around the world as the batteries that operated her life-support system ran down and the capsule air ran out. Life slipped away from Laika a few days into her journey. Later, Sputnik 2 fell into the atmosphere and burned on April 14, 1958."

From The People's Cube (heavily edited by yours truly! Click on the link if you want to see some mad propaganda...)

"Cosmonautics Day (Russian: День Космонавтики) is a Soviet holiday celebrated to commemorate the historic first manned space flight made on April 12, 1961 by 27 year old

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin of the USSR. Gagarin made one complete orbit around the Earth (lasting 1 h 48 min) aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1.

The very first unprecedented and heroic sacrifice in space was made not by Gagarin, but by Laika the Space Dog, who volunteered to be the first living creature in space four years prior to Gagarin. And unlike that of Gagarin's, Laika's flight plan didn't involve a return from orbit."