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
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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)
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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)