Sputnik 6
Encyclopedia
Korabl-Sputnik 3 or Vostok-1K No.3, also known as Sputnik 6 in the West, was a Soviet
spacecraft which was launched in 1960. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft, carrying two dogs; Pcholka and Mushka ("little bee" and "little fly"; affectionate diminutives of "pchela" and "mukha", respectively), as well as a television camera and scientific instruments.
Korabl-Sputnik 3 was launched at 07:30:04 UTC on 1 December 1960, atop a Vostok-L
carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
. It was successfully placed into low Earth orbit
. The flight lasted one day, after which the spacecraft was deorbited ahead of its planned recovery. The deorbit burn began at 07:15 UTC on 2 December, however the engine did not cut off as planned at the end of the burn, and instead the spacecraft burned to depletion. This resulted in it reentering the atmosphere at a steep angle, and disintegrating. Both Pchyolka and Mushka were killed in the resulting disintegration. The only other dog to die in a Soviet space mission was Laika
, who was never intended to survive her Sputnik 2
flight.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
spacecraft which was launched in 1960. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft, carrying two dogs; Pcholka and Mushka ("little bee" and "little fly"; affectionate diminutives of "pchela" and "mukha", respectively), as well as a television camera and scientific instruments.
Vostok-L
The Vostok-L , GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket used by the Soviet Union to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft. It was derived from the Luna rocket, with a slightly enlarged second stage to accommodate the larger payload, and was a member of the R-7 family of rockets...
carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5
Gagarin's Start
Gagarin's Start is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency....
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
. It was successfully placed into low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. The flight lasted one day, after which the spacecraft was deorbited ahead of its planned recovery. The deorbit burn began at 07:15 UTC on 2 December, however the engine did not cut off as planned at the end of the burn, and instead the spacecraft burned to depletion. This resulted in it reentering the atmosphere at a steep angle, and disintegrating. Both Pchyolka and Mushka were killed in the resulting disintegration. The only other dog to die in a Soviet space mission was Laika
Laika
Laika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit.As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there...
, who was never intended to survive her Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2 , or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 ), was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. Sputnik 2 was a 4-meter high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters...
flight.