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happy cycling
from berlin on 2004-08-11 12:32 [#01301291]
Points: 2786 Status: Regular
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this is just one of the saddest, most absurd vignettes of human history. laika, three years-old husky-mix stray dog from the streets of moscow, was the first living creature to enter space, launched by the soviets into space in 1957 from the baikonur cosmodrome.
Sputnik-2 (Laika's vessel) continued to circle the earth for 163 days. During that time, it completed 2,370 orbits and traveled approximately 100 million kilometers. On April 14, 1958, the spacecraft, carrying the body of its valiant little pioneer, fell out of orbit and burned up during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Since there was no recovery procedure for true orbital flights in 1957, Laika is the only creature knowingly sent into space to die.
here is a picture of a model of her cabin, from this nasa website about her. here is a picture of her. this is a memorial to laika, who no doubt was rather bewildered and unsuspecting of her celebrity status in the animal kingdom.
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Anus_Presley
on 2004-08-11 12:42 [#01301304]
Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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I know
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deepspace9mm
from filth on 2004-08-11 12:42 [#01301306]
Points: 6846 Status: Addict
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I remember doing a school project about space exploration when i was 9 or 10-ish... finding out about laika made me really sad. Imagining a dog slowly starving in space then burning up in the atmosphere isn't exactly a happy image.
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Anus_Presley
on 2004-08-11 12:44 [#01301308]
Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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I found out about Laika when I got into Laika
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Mertens
from Motor City (United States) on 2004-08-11 12:55 [#01301333]
Points: 2064 Status: Lurker | Followup to deepspace9mm: #01301306
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What?! I thought the dog landed safely and received a parade! Damn that sucks....
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Anus_Presley
on 2004-08-11 12:56 [#01301335]
Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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to be fairr though she was a dog and didn't rreally know
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ChildrenTalking
from United States on 2004-08-11 12:57 [#01301337]
Points: 2712 Status: Addict
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*gives a big hug to laika*
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epohs
from )C: on 2004-08-11 12:59 [#01301340]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker
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why is life so mean?
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Mertens
from Motor City (United States) on 2004-08-11 13:23 [#01301381]
Points: 2064 Status: Lurker | Followup to epohs: #01301340
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Cause of bastard scientists. Those amoral pricks don't know how to leave an idea alone.
Scientist #1: Hey, I got this wicked idea! Let's launch a dog into space!
Scientist #2: Why the hell not? We're amoral pricks who don't consider the consequence of our actions! That's the job of engineers!
Scientist #3: Great! We'll use my 6 yr old son's dog laika. I'm sure he'll be crippled emotionally but, ehh, you can't make an omlet without breaking some eggs.
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happy cycling
from berlin on 2004-08-11 13:25 [#01301388]
Points: 2786 Status: Regular | Followup to Mertens: #01301381
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hahaha. i don't know if to laugh or cry.
before anyone levels some old saw about children dying in africa against me, i'll say: mass deaths and torture are difficult to comprehend, they remain abstractions.. but a single dog trapped in a space capsule some thousands of miles above the earth is really heartbreaking -- it really just encapsulates all that is surreal and absurd about humanity.
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Anus_Presley
on 2004-08-11 13:26 [#01301389]
Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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my new pet cat is laid next to me on the table, this storry brreaks my hearrt.
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