Laika was one of the Russian space dogs, and the first living being to enter orbit as a passenger on the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Some classify her as the first animal to enter space, although others point to previous missions that placed animals into sub-orbital flights. She was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow, a female part- Samoyed terrier weighing approximately 6 kg (13 lb). Laika died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating. Her true cause of death was not made public until years after the flight, with officials always stating that she was either euthanized by poisoned food or died when the oxygen supply ran out. Russian officials have since expressed regret for allowing Laika to die; to this date, Laika is the only living passenger ever to have been launched into space with no hope of retrieval.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

* 31 BC - Battle of Actium - Off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeated troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium)

* 1666 - Great Fire of London: A large fire started in London in the house of Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge and burned for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral, but only 16 people are known to have died. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London)

* 1752 - The United Kingdom adopted the Gregorian Calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_Calendar)

* 1898 - Battle of Omdurman - Troops led by Sir Horatio Kitchener defeated Sudanese tribesmen, establishing British dominance in northeastern Africa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Omdurman)

* 1945 - The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, formally ending World War II. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"There is no sudden entrance into Heaven. Slow is the ascent by the path of Love." -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ella_Wheeler_Wilcox)