Muttnik

Muttnik is the nickname that had been given to the satellite Sputnik 2 and her lone passenger, Laika. On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 was launched into orbit containing the small street dog for her one way trip to the stars. Laika and at least 56 other dogs were taken from the streets and put through training to be the testers of space rockets for the Soviet Union. Many other dogs had been in the sky before her but Laika was the first to be sent out into orbit. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't also hold the title of first animal to go to and return from space alive. That title is held by the two dogs after her, Belka and Strelka. Laika's trip was to be one way from the start and she had ended up dying just hours after being launched due to technical malfunctions that caused the cabin that held her to overheat.

This little pup and her story are what I had chosen to use for the topic of my MassArt 2020 thesis film.