Korabl-Sputnik 2
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sputnik 5
Soviet artificial satellite, first to send animals into orbit and return safely
Key facts
- Names
- Sputnik 5
- Mission type
- Biological Technology
- Operator
- Soviet space program
- Harvard designation
- 1960 Lambda 1
- Cospar id
- 1960-011A
- Mission duration
- 1 day
- Spacecraft
- Vostok-1K No. 2
- Spacecraft type
- Vostok-1K
- Manufacturer
- OKB-1
- Launch mass
- 4,600 kilograms (10,100 lb)
- Launch date
- 19 August 1960, 08:44:06 ( 1960-08-19UTC08:44:06Z ) UTC
- Rocket
- Vostok-L 8K72
- Launch site
- Baikonur 1/5
- Landing date
- 20 August 1960, 06:00:00 ( 1960-08-20UTC07Z ) UTC
- Reference system
- Geocentric
- Regime
- Low Earth
- Perigee altitude
- 287 kilometres (178 mi)
- Apogee altitude
- 324 kilometres (201 mi)
via Wikipedia infobox
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Stamp issued to commemorate the mission
Korabl-Sputnik 2 (Russian: Корабль-Спутник 2, lit. 'Ship-Satellite 2'), also known as Sputnik 5 in the West, was a Soviet artificial satellite, and the third test flight of the Vostok spacecraft. It was the first spaceflight to send animals into orbit and return them safely back to Earth, including two Soviet space dogs, Belka and Strelka. Launched on 19 August 1960, it led to the first human orbital flight, Vostok 1, which was launched less than eight months later.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Korabl-Sputnik 2” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.