The Russian satellite Sputnik 2 with on board “Laika”, a Russian dog launched into space...

Space dogs. From a secret base of the USSR was launched a second satellite, Sputnik II, which, arrived at a distance of more than 1500 kilometers from the Earth, began to rotate around it, completing the tour in 103 minutes. On board the rocket, which is much larger and heavier than the one launched on October 4 last year, is, closed in an air-conditioned cabin, an Eskimo dog, a Laika whose presence allows, by means of special instruments, to experiment with how and how much can resist a living being in the interplanetary space. Illustration for Courier Sunday, 17 November 1957.