Sputnik 2
The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik 2 satellite, this time with the first life form from Earth to reach orbit. A dog named Laika is strapped into the satellite, where she has air and food (though only a limited supply, with no provision for a safe return to Earth), but Laika dies within hours due to overheating from the stress of launch and the unfamiliar sensations of zero gravity, making her the first living thing from Earth to die in space.
Sputnik ushers in the space age
The Soviet Union launches the world’s first artificial satellite, the short-lived Sputnik, which transmits a steady signal from orbit that can be tracked by radio. The reaction in the United States is one of alarmed paranoia, since the launch of an orbiting vehicle demonstrates technological capabilities in excess of what is needed to launch missles from the USSR toward American soil. Sputnik’s launch is the Soviet Union’s contribution to the International Geophysical Year, an international scientific event during which the United States has also promised to launch a satellite.