Space Race Gallery

Laika the space dog postcard

Laika the space dog postcard. Artwork on postcard of Laika, the bitch who became the first animal in space. She was launched aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Sputnik 2 was launched on 3 November 1957. Laika (meaning "Husky" or "Barker") was contained within a sealed cabin with a food store and an air conditioner. Soviet propaganda at the time maintained that she survived for about a week, but in fact she died after just a few hours due to overheating and panic. The spacecraft was not designed to be recovered and it burnt up as it re-entered the atmosphere on 14 April 1958, 162 days after its launch

© DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Vostok 1 spacecraft after landing, 1961

Vostok 1 descent module after landing in the Saratov region of Russia, in the USSR, on 12 April 1961. Vostok 1 was the first spacecraft to take a human into space. Its spherical descent module, which measured 2.3 metres across and housed Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin during the spaceflight. The spacecraft launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, and took 1 hour and 48 minutes to circle the Earth. After re-entry the descent module separated from the rest of the spacecraft. Gagarin ejected 7 kilometres up, parachuting safely to the ground. The descent module also deployed a parachute, but impacted the ground hard enough to create an impact crater, bouncing several times before coming to rest covered in soil

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Explorer 1 in orbit

Explorer 1. Computer artwork of America's first successful artificial satellite, Explorer 1, in orbit. Explorer 1 was launched on 31 January 1958, after the USSR took the USA by surprise by launching the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957. The satellite measured 2.05 metres in length and weighed 14 kilograms. It orbited Earth at heights of between 360 kilometres and 2520 kilometres until 31 March 1970. It carried, amongst other instruments, a geiger counter, used to detect cosmic rays. Data collected by the satellite led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt, a torus of charged particles held in place by the Earth's magnetic field

© DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY