“On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union lanuched the world’s first
man-made satellite, Sputnik I, from the Baikanor Space Center in the
Republic of Kazahkstan. Sputnik was 58 centimeters in diameter,
weighed 83.6 kilograms, and orbited the earth in 96 minutes and 12
seconds.

On November 3 of the same year, Sputnik II was successfully launched,
with the dog Laika aboard. Laika became the first living being to
leave the earth’s atmosphere, but the satellite was never recovered,
and Laika ended up sacrificed for the sake of biological research in
space.”

-From The Complete Chronicle of World History