Laika was a female, Plutarch. And something I had forgotten, she was one of many dogs shot into space by the Russians.
http://dogs.about.com/cs/generalcare/p/space_dogs.htmI remember the horror felt in the United States by the launch of the first Sputnik. It was as if our whole nation had been judged and found wanting in terms of the science education given to my generation. We were all of us certain that Communists would parachute from satellites and take over our country.
People who did not live through those times usually don't have a good grasp on just how serious the cold war and the arms race were. Those of us who were in school from about 1952 or 1953 through hmmm, let's see, at least the Cuban missile crisis will never forget practicing taking cover under desks and in enclosed hallways, as if that would do one damned bit of good in the event of a nearby a-blast.
We all remember the national despondency when our first three or four attempts to put a satellite in orbit failed live on national television, just as we thrilled to hear JFK's challenge to "send a man to the moon and return him safely to Earth before the decade is out."
