Last month was the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik I, which propelled humanity into the Space Age.
Today, November 3rd, is the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik II, the first space craft to carry a living creature — the dog, Laika.
Laika died a few hours into her flight due to overheating inside the capsule. Her body was immolated when Sputnik II reentered Earth’s atmosphere approximately six months later.
In Lawrence Miles’ novel Alien Bodies the third Doctor recovers Laika’s body using the TARDIS and gives her a proper burial.
A moment for Laika, the world’s first space explorer.
Published by Allyn
A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.
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