Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On November 3, 1957, a Soviet space dog named Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth. Laika was a 3-year-old stray ...

Sputnik 2 was launched by the Soviets shortly after Sputnik 1, with its rapid preparation intended to sustain propaganda momentum and align with the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. This ...

Sixty-eight years ago, on November 3, 1957, a historic event unfolded when Laika, a small stray dog from Moscow, became the first living creature to orbit Earth aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, ...

Less than a month after the launch of Sputnik 1, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2. The mission was readied quickly in order to keep the propaganda momentum from Sputnik 1 and to coincide with the 40th ...