"THE COLD WAR - SPUTNIK - AND SOVIET SPACE DOG LAIKA" Please note - BOLD TYPE IS HISTORICAL and NORMAL TEXT IS FICTIONAL by: Aaron George Bailey Sherwood, Arkansas USA This Web Page was created on October 4, 2007 CHAPTER #4 - PAGE 1 OF 2 PREFLIGHT - LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF LAIKA - part 1 of 2 |
| LAIKA -IN A PHOTO SESSION- checks out her food tray and then turns to look at her Master |
Now, it was center stage for Laika as she was chosen for the honor of the first orbital test flight involving a
biological subject. Laika was picked mainly for her even-tempered nature(9B) and in part because she
had never flown before and was next in line. With less than a month till launch her training schedule was
accelerated. Cameras clicked and rolled during a preflight press conference while Laika posed inside her
capsule. She perked her ears smartly, checked out the food tray and then turned to look at her Master.-(see the
above GIF) On October 27th a radio reporter came to the Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine to do a
story about space dogs and their training which was part of a program about Soviet plans to send up more
animals in space.(3A) Only, unlike earlier up and down vertical trips, this would be the first orbital flight.
Laika and her backup named Albina were spotlighted as prime dogs for the future Sputnik fight. After
some coaxing, and to the delight of all, Laika barked into a microphone, and Radio Moscow broadcast it
over short wave, making it a bark heard round the world.(3A) In a canine way she had made her debut on a
worldwide stage. It was a prelude to her part in an earth shaking event that was soon to come.
biological subject. Laika was picked mainly for her even-tempered nature(9B) and in part because she
had never flown before and was next in line. With less than a month till launch her training schedule was
accelerated. Cameras clicked and rolled during a preflight press conference while Laika posed inside her
capsule. She perked her ears smartly, checked out the food tray and then turned to look at her Master.-(see the
above GIF) On October 27th a radio reporter came to the Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine to do a
story about space dogs and their training which was part of a program about Soviet plans to send up more
animals in space.(3A) Only, unlike earlier up and down vertical trips, this would be the first orbital flight.
Laika and her backup named Albina were spotlighted as prime dogs for the future Sputnik fight. After
some coaxing, and to the delight of all, Laika barked into a microphone, and Radio Moscow broadcast it
over short wave, making it a bark heard round the world.(3A) In a canine way she had made her debut on a
worldwide stage. It was a prelude to her part in an earth shaking event that was soon to come.
A few days before launch the Sputnik dogs were placed on a TU-104 twin jet and flown from the Moscow
Institute to the Baikonur space complex in Kazakhstan. Korolev was uneasy about having all the key dogs
on one plane in the event of a crash. All went well as the heavy Tu-104 touched down safely on the short
runway at Baikonur.(8) Happily, the dogs scampered off the plane and took care of doggy business before going to
their temporary kennel. On the morning of October 31, Laika was taken for her daily walk and a short time
later she began the complicated process of being fitted with her space gear. Firstly, her coat was
carefully sponged with a weak alcohol solution and then she was thoroughly groomed with a fine-toothed
comb.(9B) Then select parts of her chest were shaved so that electrodes could be surgically implanted to
measure her pulse. A rubber transducer belt was then fitted snugly around her torso to register activity
level and respiration rate. And a tiny crystal sensor was clipped around a diverted neck artery in order to
measure her blood pressure (BP). To protect this delicate area Laika wore a custom made collar which
was almost as wide as her neck was long and provided a stable cover for the exposed artery. Finally she
was fitted with a padded, full body harness, which served to protect her biomedical hookups and helped
restrain her inside the cabin by way of loose chains which allowed some limited movement.(2) A pad like
flap on the rear of the harness covered her shaved tail area and served as seal against waste leaks. The
rear harness flap was designed with an opening to allow passage of body waste. A rubber bag was
attached on the opening of the rear harness flap. This arrangement served both as a solid and liquid
waste bladder. This type of sanitation method fit female dogs better than male dogs. Being
physiologically different, male dogs typically raise their leg to urinate which conflicted with any simple
sanitation arrangement within the small capsules. So almost all Soviet space dogs were female, weighed
less than twenty pounds and had mostly white coats to make camera observations of their behavior more
visible in the low light levels of the capsule.(9A) And lastly, Laika's front legs were shaved so that ECG
electrodes could be taped in place.
Laika lay quietly in her padded box atop the fueled rocket, comfortable in her own little world. There was
the familiar whirl of two small circulating fans to her lower left and right which provided cool air flow over
her head. Working together these twin fans created an air flow pattern which moved from Laika’s head
toward the rear of the capsule where any floating matter would be drawn and caught by filters. The air flow
cycle was then completed as the fans pulled used cabin air through chemical compounds which were
housed in the two thick sides of Laika’s box. Called air scrubbers, these chemical containers removed
excess water vapor and the buildup of deadly carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, both byproducts of her
respiration.(2) The reaction of solid chemicals also served as the oxygen supply.(2) For better or worse,
the reaction of the air scrubbing chemicals gave off some heat within the tiny capsule. NOTE- A similar
regeneration system, made up of solid chemical compounds, would later be used in a life support system
designed for manned missions. A third fan was mounted on the ceiling of the tiny capsule and was set to
be activated above 15C to further help keep Laika cool.(2) Cabin illumination depended on ambient light
that could filter in through the small window on the hatch. Laika was in the dark while the nose cone was
in place. Laika would occasionally lick her water sponge(1A) or food bar. But mainly, she was conditioned
to lay quietly, just waiting for her Master to open the capsule and reward her with petting and a special
treat. This was the routine that was trained into her over many simulation sessions.
