11/21/2025
On August 19,1960, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5 into space. Aboard on the spacecraft were two female dogs, Belka (meaning “Whitey”)and Strelka (meaning “Little Arrow”). Belka and Strelka were stray dogs that a Soviet scientist found roaming the streets of Moscow. They believed that stray dogs would endure the harshness of space better than housetrained dogs. Both dogs were launched into space and orbited the Earth more than a dozen times before returning to Earth the next day. They lived a happy life in Moscow. Strelka later had a puppy named Pushinka, who was given to President John F. Kennedy. Both Belka and Strelka were preserved after their death at the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow.