Sputnik 2
Model of Sputnik 2 at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow
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| Mission type | Bioscience |
|---|---|
| Operator | OKB-1 |
| Harvard designation | 1957 Beta 1 |
| SATCAT № | 00003 |
| Mission duration | 162 days |
| Orbits completed | ~2,000 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 508.3 kilograms (1,121 lb) (payload only) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | November 3, 1957, 02:30:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Sputnik 8K71PS |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | April 14, 1958 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 7,306 kilometres (4,540 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0990965 |
| Perigee | 211 kilometres (131 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,659 kilometres (1,031 mi) |
| Inclination | 65.3 degrees |
| Period | 103.73 minutes |
| Epoch | 3 November 1957 |
Sputnik 2 (Russian pronunciation: [ˈsputʲnʲɪk], Russian: Спутник-2, Satellite 2), or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (PS-2, Russian: Простейший Спутник 2, Elementary Satellite 2) was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on 3 November 1957, and the first to carry a living animal, a Soviet space dog named Laika.
Launched by the U.S.S.R., Sputnik 2 was a 4-metre (13 foot) high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters (6.6 feet) that weighed around 500 kg, though it was not designed to separate from the rocket core that brought it to orbit, bringing the total mass in orbit to 7.79 tons. It contained several compartments for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature-control system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained the dog Laika.
Engineering and biological data were transmitted using the Tral D telemetry system, transmitting data to Earth for a 15-minute period during each orbit. Two photometers were on board for measuring solar radiation (ultraviolet and x-ray emissions) and cosmic rays. Sputnik 2 did not contain a television camera; TV images of dogs on Korabl-Sputnik 2 are commonly misidentified as Laika.
Sputnik 2 was launched into space only 32 days after its predecessor Sputnik 1. Due to the huge success of Sputnik 1, Nikita Khrushchev had Sergey Korolev on orders and back to work creating a Sputnik 2 that needed to be ready for space for the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. Many people believed that Khrushchev pushed Korolev into creating Sputnik 2 against his will and advice that it would end in failure, but actually Korolev was more than happy to comply, and he used the excitement from Sputnik 1 to help “accelerate his own plans for exploring space, particularly putting man into orbit”
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