Sputnik-2, more news from distant history

Sven Grahn

A space history paper "surfaces" in Houston!

At the World Space Congress in Houston in October 2002 a very interesting paper (1) about Sputnik-2 appeared written by by Dimitri C. Malashenkov from the Institute for Biological problems in Moscow. The following details were given about the design of the spacecraft:

The life-support system and the food was designed for a 7-day flight

The food and water for the dog was in jelly form

There was a CO 2 absorbing device as well as an O 2 generator and device to avoid oxygen poisoning.

A fan was set to be activated above 15 o C to keep the dog cool.

Metal "chains" keep the dog from moving except for standing, sitting or lie down. It could not turn around in the cabin.

There was also a "sewage" device of a character not further elaborated on.

The following parameters were telemetered: Respiration rate Maximum arterial pressure Electrocardiogram "Actogram" showing movements of the dog





There had been work done to adapt a group of dogs to conditions in the tight cabin. This had led to keeping dogs in gradually smaller cages for periods up to 15-20 days. In general, it seems that long confinement led untrained dogs to neither urinate nor release solid wastes, which made the dogs restless and caused their general condition to decay. Laxatives did not help, only long training did. All these preparations must have been far in advance of the decree of 12 October 1957 to carry out the flight of the dog. (See article entitled: Sputnik 2 - was it really built in less than a month?) Pre-flight experiments with launch phase stress like vibrations caused the pulse to double and the blood pressure to increase by 30-65 mm Hg.

There were three dogs selected for the Sputnik-2 flight: Albina, Laika and Mushka. Albina had flown twice on a high altitude rocket, so it was the "stand-in" for Laika, while Mushka was a "technological dog" used to test instrumentation and life support. (According to (2) the first being to travel to outer space was a female part-Samoyed terrier originally named Kudryavka [Little Curly] but later renamed Laika [Barker]).

Pre-launch physiological parameters of Laika were normal, but pulse rate went up by a factor three at launch and at peak acceleration the respiration rate had increased 3-4 times above pre-launch values. At the start of weightlessness the pulse rate decreased to values near the pre-launch rate. However, it took three times longer than after a centrifuge ride on the ground to return to pre-launch values. Electrocardiogram traces also approached normal as the flight continued.

However, telemetry showed that temperature and humidity in the dog cabin increased gradually. After 5-7 hours into the flight no physiological parameters were transmitted and on the fourth orbit it was impossible to obtain any data on the condition of the dog.

Post-flight simulations showed that Laika probably overheated an died on the third or fourth orbit. As the author writes: "It was practically impossible to create a reliable system of a temperature control in such small [sic] term". There is no mention of any problem with the nose shroud that could have helped make the temperature control problem worse.

Previously, it has been thought that Laika survived four days in space and perhaps for a week when the transmitters (on shortwaves) of Sputnik-2 went silent. Actually, it seems that she survived for only 5-7 hours! But that was enough to prove that a living organsism could tolerate a long time in weightlessness.



Other notes about Sputnik-2

According to (3) Laika, like many earlier space dogs, was "recruited" from the streets of Moscow. Named Kudryavka (Little Curly) by her trainers, she was officially renamed Laika (Barker) after her breed. Dogs of this breed were ideal for such flights due to their small size and even temperament. Strays from the Moscow streets were chosen since they were generally strong and could endure the hardships of hunger and extreme cold. In case Laika was not fit to make the flight, she had a backup named Albina. A third dog, named Muskha, was to serve as part of the ground test team but she was removed after she would not eat properly.

My friend Richard Flagg, now living in Hawaii wrote recently (4): "I recall monitoring signals from Sputnik -2 as did a friend across the street in Clearwater [Florida]. He got a QSL card (5) - with a picture of Laika. I always wished that I had gotten one. Oh well."

Sergei Korolev, the chief designer of the R-7 rocket and the early sputniks returned to Moscow on October 5, 1957 - the day after the launch of Sputnik-1. In a conversation with Khrushchev, the Soviet leader at the time, held immediately upon Korolev's return to Moscow - Korolev suggested launching a dog-carrying satellite in time for the anniversary (40 th) of the Great October Socialist Revolution on November 7. Khrushchev ordered his deputy, Frol Kozlov to oversee the effort and the next day a top level meeting with all chief designers was called to organize the project ( 6 ). When could all of this have happened? Could the meeting with Khrushchev have happened on 5 October and the meeting with chief designers on 6 October? This could be so, because newspaper reports in the west were saying already on 7 October that the next satellite would carry animals. And on 11 October the next launch was reported to be planned to take place in a month's time" (See my web article "The veracity of early rumours about Soviet space ventures")



Laika was put inside the satellite on October 31, 1957 - four days before launch! Not only did she have to suffer in space, she also had to suffer during launch preparations [See picture above right] : "... Laika was put in the satellite container at mid-day on October 31, and by nighttime, the payload had ben attached to the booster rocket. Temperatures at Tyura-Tam were very cold at the time, and the container was heated via a special hose connected to an air conditioner during the preparations for launch. Yazdovskiy, the de facto head of all biomedical operations, asked two of his assistants to keep a constant watch on Laika through the stacking procedures. ..." (6).