She is a dog. Sputnik II remained in orbit until April 14, 1958, when it was cremated upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. The cause of death was the excessive heating of the aircraft in the sun. She was the typical LOYAL dog, always following her master, and when reprimanded looked at … Laika (Russian: Лайка; c. 1954 – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika went to space, her fate decided by man. Telemetry data showed that Laika survived the launch, according to Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com. The plan was for Laika to die in space. Laika is the first animal in the orbit. For five more months, Earth was orbited by a dead dog, the second thing humans ever put into space. Only female dogs were used because they were considered to be anatomically better suited than males for close confinement. Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The National Canine Defence League was calling on all dog lovers to observe a minute's silence. With only 3 weeks to create the new spacecraft, the Russians didn’t have time to create a way for Laika to make it home. Animal welfare organizations expressed outrage at news that the Russians have sent a dog into outer space. Laika survived only a few hours. She died a painful death, within hours, from overheating and panic. Initially, Soviet publications claimed that the dog died… But the unexpected happened. We now know that Laika died of overheating about 5-7 hours after launch. Laika was a small (13 pounds [6 kg]), even-tempered, mixed-breed dog about two years of age. How did Laika the space dog die? She was one of a number of stray dogs that were taken into the Soviet spaceflight program after being rescued from the streets. Laika was a mongrel female, approx 3 years old, quiet and charming. She died because--or so scientists predict--when the Soviet Sputnick 2 crashed, the cabin overheated, killing poor Laika within hours. Laika (Russian: Лайка; c. 1954 – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. The creators of the apparatus thought that the dog would die 6 days after the launch, when the apparatus had run out of electricity. Laika touched the stars before she died and she touched the hearts and minds of generations. Laika was once a part of our family - she was with us for four years, but we had to send her to the Dumanhugs (thank God we did as she was in better hands) because my son was asthmatic. 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