Friday, November 3, 1972

Sputnik 2

  1957-002


After the success of the first satellite, a second PS was built with a small pressurized cabin. The 508 kg PS-2 was launched on Nov 3 into a more elliptical orbit, becoming satellite 1957 Beta. It remained attached to the 7380 kg rocket stage so that it could use the telemetry system of the rocket and to prevent overheating of the cabin. PS-2 consisted of a solar UV/X-ray detector package, a PS-1 sphere with pressure and temperature sensors, and the 0.8m long 0.64m diameter dog container derived from a suborbital R-2A launch design. Inside the cabin was a dog called Laika, the first space traveller. Laika (reportedly originally called Kudryavka) was a 6 kg, two year old female. PS-2, the second ISZ , also carried a radiation detector and a detector to measure the flux of X-rays and UV radiation from the Sun. It reentered and burned up in the atmosphere on 1958 Apr 14 over the Atlantic near the coast of Surinam.


PS-2 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1957 Nov 3  0230:42 Launch by 8K71PS  KB 
 0232  Blok-BVGD sep 
 0235:52  T+310s Blok-A cutoff 
 0236?  GO sep? 
   212 x 1660 x 65.1 
1957 Nov 9   End of transmissions 
1958 Apr 14  0145:25  Alt 100 km over 74W 41N 
 0155  Reentered over 57W 9N 

Payload:

  • Pressurized section with dog Laika

  • Radiation detector

  • Solar UV/X detector

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