Popular Culture Review Volume 29, Number 2, Summer 2018 | Page 43

Popular Culture Review 29.2
was thought , than having Laika burn up in re-entry or die of hunger . Her fate was sealed no matter what .
On October 31 , three days before lift-off , she was welded into her capsule . As the door closed for good , records indicate that a scientist bent down , “ kissed her nose , and wished her bon voyage .” 5 And Laika held on .
The launch itself was a great success , though after reaching orbit there were some problems with thermal insulation coming loose and a part of the booster rocket not separating exactly as planned . The dog-cosmonaut was in a panic . After three hours of orbiting , weightless , Laika began to calm down . Her pulse dropped by more than 50 % �almost back to normal . The on-board electronics showed that she ate a bit of food . The scientists cheered . Laika held on .
Three hours later , there were no signs of life in the capsule .
The news continued to report on Laika ’ s position over the days to come , never letting on that she had died . “ Look up in the sky and perhaps you ’ ll see her ,” they announced , though she had long since passed . After a week , it was broadcast that Laika had finally completed her mission and was to be euthanized painlessly . It was not until 2002 that we learned the truth : on just the fourth orbit , about six hours into her flight , Laika had died in agony from extreme heat exposure . One of the designers of the Sputnik 2 rocket testified : “ It turned out that it was practically impossible to create a reliable temperature control system in such limited time constraints .... The more time passes , the more I ’ m sorry about it ....” 6
5 Quoted in Kathleen Walker-Meikle , The Dog Book : Dogs of Historical Distinction ( NY : Old House Books , 2014 ): 140 .
6 https :// www . rferl . org / a / laika-soviet-dog-in-space / 28833194 . html ( Accessed November 21 , 2017 ).
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