However their mission was marked by a string of equipment failures. Albina was one of the dogs shortlisted for Sputnik 2, but never flew in orbit.ĭamka and Krasavka - Damka ("Queen of checkers") and Krasavka ("Little Beauty") were to make an orbital flight on 22 December 1960 as a part of the Vostok programme which also included mice. She went on to make 5 other flights between 19.Īlbina and Tsyganka - Albina (a real female name) and Tsyganka ("Gypsy girl") were both ejected out of their capsule at an altitude of 85 km and landed safely. Otvazhnaya and Snezhinka - Otvazhnaya ("Brave One") made a flight on 2 July 1959 along with a rabbit named Marfusha ("Little Martha") and another dog named Snezhinka ("Snowflake"). A replacement named ZIB (a Russian acronym for "Substitute for Missing Bolik", ( Zamena Ischeznuvshemu Boliku), who was an untrained street dog found running around the barracks, was quickly located and made a successful flight. She was found the next day and went on to make a successful flight with a dog named Malyshka ( "Babe").īolik and ZIB - Bolik ran away just days before his flight in September 1951. Smelaya and Malyshka - Smelaya ("Brave" or "Courageous") was due to make a flight in September but ran away the day before the launch. Lisa and Ryzhik - Lisa ("Fox" or "Vixen") and Ryzhik ("Ginger" (red-haired)) flew to an altitude of 100 km on 2 June 1954. More than 60% of dogs to enter space were reportedly suffering from constipation and gallstones on arrival back to base. This was highly fibrous, and assisted the dogs to excrete during long periods of time while in their small space module. Their training included standing still for long periods of time, wearing space suits, being placed in simulators that acted like a rocket during launch, riding in centrifuges that simulated the high acceleration of a rocket launch and being kept in progressively smaller cages to prepare them for the confines of the space module.ĭogs that flew in orbit were fed a nutritious jelly-like protein. ![]() Stray dogs, rather than animals accustomed to living in a house, were chosen because the scientists felt they would be able to tolerate the rigours and extreme stresses of space flight better than other dogs.įemale dogs were used because of their temperament and because the suit the dogs wore in order to collect urine and feces was equipped with a special device, designed to work only with females. As part of their training, they were confined in small boxes for 15–20 days at a time. Dogs were the preferred animal for the experiments because scientists felt dogs were well suited to endure long periods of inactivity.
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