answers: 3 November 1957
context: Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts. Both scientists had backgrounds in astronomy, although Dr. Wahl’s Ph.D. was in meteorology. The mission of Space Track was to track and compute orbits for all artificial earth satellites, including both US and Soviet payloads, booster rockets, and debris. With the Soviet launch of Luna 1 on 2 January 1959, Space Track also started tracking space probes. The first major tracking effort was Sputnik II, containing the dog Laika, launched 3 November 1957. An Electronic Support System Program Office, 496L, had been established in February 1959, with the program office at Waltham, Massachusetts under the </s> orbit was a female mongrel originally named "Kudryavka" (Little Curly), but later renamed "Laika" ("Barker"). Her true pedigree is unknown, although it is generally accepted that she was part husky or other Nordic breed, and possibly part terrier. NASA refers to Laika as a "part-Samoyed terrier". Laika was selected from ten candidates at the Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, because of her even temperament. She weighed about 6 kg (13 lbs). The pressurized cabin on Sputnik 2 was padded and allowed enough room for Laika to lie down or stand. An air regeneration system provided oxygen; food and water </s> condition to deteriorate. Laxatives did not improve their condition, and the researchers found that only long periods of training proved effective. The dogs were placed in centrifuges that simulated the acceleration of a rocket launch and were placed in machines that simulated the noises of the spacecraft. This caused their pulses to double and their blood pressure to increase by 30–65 torr. The dogs were trained to eat a special high-nutrition gel that would be their food in space. Before the launch, one of the mission scientists took Laika home to play with his children. In a book chronicling the
question: when was laika the dog sent into space