Sputnik 2

Sputnik 2 was a Soviet Union spacecraft. It was the second spacecraft in the Sputnik programme. It was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog called Laika.[2] It was launched on 3 October 1957 at Baikonur Cosmodrome.[2] Scientists think that Laika died several hours after launch from overheating. The spacecraft went into orbit around Earth for roughly five months.[2] It went down into Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958 and burned up.[2]

Sputnik 2
Mission typeBioscience
OperatorOKB-1
Harvard designation1957 Beta 1
COSPAR ID1957-002A
SATCAT no.00003
Mission duration162 days
Orbits completed2570
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass508.3 kilograms (1,121 lb) (payload only)
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 3, 1957, 02:30:00 (1957-11-03UTC02:30Z) UTC
RocketSputnik 8K71PS
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Decay dateApril 14, 1958 (1958-04-15)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Semi-major axis7,306 kilometres (4,540 mi)
Eccentricity0.0990965
Perigee211 kilometres (131 mi)
Apogee1,659 kilometres (1,031 mi)
Inclination65.3 degrees
Period103.73 minutes
Epoch3 November 1957[1]
 

Sputnik 2 was 4 metres (13 feet) high and its base diameter was 2 metres (6.6 feet).[2] It was a cone-shaped and it had several different places for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the spacecraft, and scientific instruments.[2] Laika was put in a special area.[2]

References
  1. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  2. "Sputnik 2". NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 2011-12-24.


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