Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2 was a Soviet Union spacecraft. It was the second spacecraft in the Sputnik programme. It was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog called Laika.[2] It was launched on 3 October 1957 at Baikonur Cosmodrome.[2] Scientists think that Laika died several hours after launch from overheating. The spacecraft went into orbit around Earth for roughly five months.[2] It went down into Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958 and burned up.[2]
| Mission type | Bioscience |
|---|---|
| Operator | OKB-1 |
| Harvard designation | 1957 Beta 1 |
| COSPAR ID | {{#property:P247}} |
| SATCAT no. | 00003 |
| Mission duration | 162 days |
| Orbits completed | 2570 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 508.3 kilograms (1,121 lb) (payload only) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | November 3, 1957, 02:30:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Sputnik 8K71PS |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | April 14, 1958 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 7,306 kilometres (4,540 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0990965 |
| Perigee | 211 kilometres (131 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,659 kilometres (1,031 mi) |
| Inclination | 65.3 degrees |
| Period | 103.73 minutes |
| Epoch | 3 November 1957[1] |
Sputnik 2 was 4 metres (13 feet) high and its base diameter was 2 metres (6.6 feet).[2] It was a cone-shaped and it had several different places for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the spacecraft, and scientific instruments.[2] Laika was put in a special area.[2]
Sputnik 2 Media
USSR postage stamp "Спутник-2"
Related pages
References
- ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Sputnik 2". NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
