Forgotten Heroes of the Early Space Race
January 9th 2008 06:36
We tend to remember the early astronauts we recall names like Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn.
While these astronauts where pioneers in their own right they owe a great debt to the forgotten heroes of the animal world. I am not in favor of using animals in experiments but the plight of the animals used in early space flight test where not ideal to say the least.
I recall reading my father’s newspaper way back in 1957 and seeing a picture of the little Russian dog about to launched into space.
Laika, whose real name was Kudryavka (Little Curly), was a huskie-mix. A picture I have to this day. It made quite an impression on me and still does on how they were going to get the dog back home. Well little Laika did not make it home Laika's "coffin" burned up in the Earth's atmosphere over Barbados on 14 April 1958, five months after launch.
The Soviet Union has launched the first ever living creature into space. Animal welfare organisations expressed outrage at news that the Russians have sent a dog into outer space.
I know form a scientific stand point that these early space flights with animals were crucial for making a human survive in space never the less you wonder at what the conditions were like for these animals strapped in confined spaces and subjected to heat, cold, noise and violent vibrations of liftoff.
A squirrel monkey named Gordo survived a 300-mile journey into space and then travelled a further 1,500 miles in the rocket until it dropped in the South Atlantic. Gordo did not make it, a technical problem with the recovery gear meant a parachute failed to open and the nose-cone sank taking Gordo with it.
Able, a 15kg male rhesus monkey, and Baker, a 1 kg female squirrel monkey survived the flight and were recovered. Perhaps the most remembered animal to travel into space was a chimpanzee called Ham, Ham was trained to pull levers in response to flashing lights during flight.
He carried out several such operations successfully as he travelled at 8,000 km/h at a height of 250 km above the Earth. Ham the chimpanzee went to the National Zoo in Washington DC after his brief career as an astrochimp where he lived for further 17 years.
In 1981 he was moved to a chimpanzee colony in North Carolina where he died at the age of 25 some two years later. He is buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico.
Images: NASA/TASS
While these astronauts where pioneers in their own right they owe a great debt to the forgotten heroes of the animal world. I am not in favor of using animals in experiments but the plight of the animals used in early space flight test where not ideal to say the least.
I recall reading my father’s newspaper way back in 1957 and seeing a picture of the little Russian dog about to launched into space.
Laika, whose real name was Kudryavka (Little Curly), was a huskie-mix. A picture I have to this day. It made quite an impression on me and still does on how they were going to get the dog back home. Well little Laika did not make it home Laika's "coffin" burned up in the Earth's atmosphere over Barbados on 14 April 1958, five months after launch.
Laika
The Soviet Union has launched the first ever living creature into space. Animal welfare organisations expressed outrage at news that the Russians have sent a dog into outer space.
I know form a scientific stand point that these early space flights with animals were crucial for making a human survive in space never the less you wonder at what the conditions were like for these animals strapped in confined spaces and subjected to heat, cold, noise and violent vibrations of liftoff.
A squirrel monkey named Gordo survived a 300-mile journey into space and then travelled a further 1,500 miles in the rocket until it dropped in the South Atlantic. Gordo did not make it, a technical problem with the recovery gear meant a parachute failed to open and the nose-cone sank taking Gordo with it.
Gordo
Able, a 15kg male rhesus monkey, and Baker, a 1 kg female squirrel monkey survived the flight and were recovered. Perhaps the most remembered animal to travel into space was a chimpanzee called Ham, Ham was trained to pull levers in response to flashing lights during flight.
Astro Chimp Ham
He carried out several such operations successfully as he travelled at 8,000 km/h at a height of 250 km above the Earth. Ham the chimpanzee went to the National Zoo in Washington DC after his brief career as an astrochimp where he lived for further 17 years.
In 1981 he was moved to a chimpanzee colony in North Carolina where he died at the age of 25 some two years later. He is buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico.
Images: NASA/TASS
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