Having stunned the world with the first orbital space launch, Sputnik 1, less than a month before, the Soviet Union tries for a second coup by launching a dog named Laika on a one-way journey on a hastily completed follow-up mission, Sputnik 2. The dog survives the launch, but Soviet secrecy masks her ultimate fate for many years. It now appears that even though she had a week's supply of food, Laika died within hours, possibly due to a life-support failure that caused her canister to overheat.From: National Geographic
