1950s-70s Space Race to The Moon: 1960-08-19 USSR Korabl-Sputnik 2 (Belka & Strelka)

A cover depicting the Belka and Strelka space flight launch, postmarked in Minsk on August 19, 1960.

Korabl-Sputnik 2 (or Sputnik 5) was the third test flight of the Vostok spacecraft and marked the first Russian spaceflight to successfully send animals into orbit and return them safely to Earth. Launched on August 19, 1960, it set the stage for the first human orbital flight, Vostok 1, which took place less than eight months later. The spacecraft carried two dogs (Belka and Strelka), forty mice, two rats, a variety of plants, and a television camera that captured images of the dogs. The spacecraft returned to Earth at 06:00:00 UTC on August 20, just one day after launch. Telemetry indicated that one dog experienced seizures and vomited during the fourth orbit, leading to the decision to limit the first manned flight to three orbits. All the animals were recovered safely, and a year later, Strelka had a litter of puppies, one of which was gifted to U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as a goodwill gesture from the Soviet Union.

Photo: Strelka (left) and Belka (right), the first two dogs to survive an orbit around Earth on August 19, 1960.

A cover depicting the recovery of Belka and Strelka from their space flight, postmarked in Minsk on August 20, 1960.

Korabl-Sputnik 2 was the second attempt to launch a Vostok capsule with dogs aboard. The first attempt, on July 28, 1960, involved two dogs named Chaika ("Seagull") and Lisichka ("Foxie"), but it ended in failure due to a fire and a malfunction in one of the combustion chambers, leading to the booster detaching 19 seconds after launch. Approximately 30 seconds into the flight, the launch vehicle disintegrated. Flight controllers issued commands to jettison the payload shroud and separate the descent module, but because of the low altitude, the parachutes deployed only partially, resulting in the dogs being killed upon impact with the ground.

Photo: Belka in space during orbit around the Earth.

Top: A cover depicting the launch of Belka and Strelka, postmarked in Vilnius on August 19, 1960.
Bottom: A cover depicting the recovery of Belka and Strelka from their space flight, postmarked in Vilnius on August 20, 1960.