| Welcome, you have entered the website of a spaceflight pioneer, a small dog who helped lead humanity into the future, and served her Soviet masters well. Since the dawning of the Space Age, mystery and myth have surrounded her flight on Sputnik-2 and only in recent times, have new details emerged. Herein is the story, a special blend of history about the Cold War, Sputnik, the Soviet space dog Laika, and how the world was forever changed. This work is composed of both FACT and FICTION and the text is marked accordingly. My goal was to make this web page both, informative and historically correct, assuming the visitor were to read the bold text only. The fiction is meant to connect the facts and give the story continuity and a human dimension. So, if you must, please remove your "STRICTLY HISTORICAL" badge and open your mind, beyond the facts, to what might have happened on Sputnik-2. Find out why the mission was conceived, witness the preflight as Laika was fitted with space gear, and then roll out the R-7 rocket to the pad. Finally, read through the sights and sounds of the countdown, and then ride into orbit on Sputnik-2, as seen through the eyes, of Soviet space dog Laika. |
| -THE COLD WAR - - SPUTNIK - - AND SOVIET SPACE DOG LAIKA - by: Aaron George Bailey - WA5HRC Sherwood, Arkansas USA This Web Page was created on October 4, 2007 Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of "The Birth of the Space Age" WARNING ! - SOME READERS WILL FIND DISTURBING CONTENT WITHIN THIS WEB SITE ! |
Chapter #1 - FROM STEAM LOCOMOTIVES TO SPACESHIPS - The Dawning of the Space Age
Chapter #2 - A HOME AT THE INSTITUTE - Laika, a Small Stray Nabbed Off the Street
Chapter #3 - A COSMIC EVENT FROM THE 20TH CENTURY- Russia's Baby Moon Surprise- 2 parts
Chapter #4 - PREFLIGHT - Being a Good Dog - Through the Eyes of Laika- in 2 parts
Chapter #5 - RIDING FIRE AND THUNDER - Looking Through the Eyes of Laika - in 2 parts
Chapter #6 - LAIKA'S STAR - A Distant Beacon on an Uncharted Sea
Chapter #7 - THE BOND BETWEEN MAN AND DOG - long version - strong commentary - default
Chapter #7 - THE BOND BETWEEN MAN AND DOG - short version - optional
Chapter #8 - THE CHALLENGE - Sparking a Technological Explosion
Chapter #9 - FORTY YEARS LATER -THE REST OF THE LAIKA STORY- Dr. Gazenko From the Heart
Chapter #10 - POSTSCRIPT
LAIKA / SPUTNIK-2 HISTORICAL SUMMARY + Laika / Sputnik-2 - a Condensed One Page Printout
DEFINITIONS and ABBREVIATIONS
REFERENCES
THE MYSTERIOUS HEARTBEAT SOUND FROM SPUTNIK-2 - Biological or Mechanical ? -updated
SPUTNIK-2 ORBIT SIMULATIONS - Position Relative to Key Events
BUSTING THE MYTH OF - A TV IMAGE OF LAIKA FROM ORBIT ? -updated
INTRIGUING REPORTS FROM THE EARLY SPACE AGE- Spacecraft Radio Frequency -page 1 of 2
INTRIGUING REPORTS - THE EARLY SPACE RACE + Sorting out Fact from Fiction -page 2 of 2
INTERCEPTING RADIO SIGNALS FROM THE SOVIET SPACE PROGRAM - My HF & VHF Antennas
INTERCEPTING SPACECRAFT SIGNALS - The Russian Soyuz & Salyut-6 - My 121.750 MHz Radio
THE FOREVER CHANGING ORBIT OF SALYUT-6 - The Problem of Real-Time Tracking in 1978
HF RADIO - RECEIVER GEAR FOR LISTENING OUT ON SHORTWAVES - under construction
OLD RADIO DAYS - WHAT FREQUENCY AM I TUNED TO ? - The truth is in the Crystal Calibrator.
A POOR MAN'S PEN-RECORDER FOR PULSE DURATION (PDM) TELEMETRY on 20.008Mhz
A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF PDM TELEMETRY AND ON-OFF BEACONS
MY GENERATION WAS TREATED TO THE MAGIC AND WONDER OF SPACEFLIGHT- My Reaction
RADIO SIGNALS FROM SPACE - Satellite Sounds - My Intercepts
HAM RADIO - The Heathkit HW-8 and Morse Code - My favorite Rig and Mode of Operation
OBSERVING SATELLITES- Sky Watching A Pleasant Backyard Pastime +SPOTTING SPUTNIKS
THE EVOLUTION OF ELECTRONICS - A Collection of Items
SOVIET UNION FLIGHT RESEARCH WITH ANIMAL TEST SUBJECTS - under construction
COLLECTIBLES ON PARADE- (1) (2)
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
ROCKET DOG TRAINING - THE CENTRIFUGE
THE ARTERY LOOP-(skin flap) ON A SPACE DOG + THE ATTACHMENT OF THE BP SENSOR
RUSSIAN QSL RADIO CARDS WITH A SPACE THEME
APOLLO-SOYUZ - COUNTDOWN EVENTS RECEIVED DIRECTLY ON 296.8MHZ FROM THE CAPE
SEE MY DOG CHIPPER + Fishing in Arkansas
FOR FUN - YOU PLAY ARCHAEOLOGIST - FIND THE INDIAN ARTIFACTS IN THESE PICTURES
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE- LRAFB +B-47 +C-130 -A Brief History during the Cold War & now
THE 1950s + USAF SAC & EAM COMMUNICATIONS DURING THE EARLY COLD WAR
BOMBS AWAY - MISSION COMPLETE - FUEL LOW - GOING DOWN WITH THE RS-6 HF RADIO
THE AMELIA EARHART MYSTERY VIEWED FROM THE ANGLE OF RADIO OPERATIONS
| Please contact me if you have difficulty navigating this page or if there are obvious gaps of missing / broken text, or images that fail to appear, or sound file errors. - - |
