Space Dogs

Back when scientists knew nothing about space travel, back when rockets were new, agroup of Russian cosmonauts rode rockets to the edge of space and into earth orbit. These pioneerspace travelers were dogs, space dogs of the Soviet space program. For 15 years, space dogs occupied the world stage, blazing trails as the first astronauts. Their flights taught scientists how living beings reacted to rocket travel and tested the equipmentthat would be used for human space flight. The age of the space dog extended from the firstlaunch in 1951 until the final, record-breaking dog flight in 1966. Some dogs won world-widefame. Most of them, however, worked and died in obscurity. They were all pioneers ofspace travel. And no one has ever told their story. Until now. Space Dogs dramatizes the training of the dogs, the harrowing early flights, the tragicaccidents, the fame that came to the program after the launch of Laika in Sputnik 2, and the finalflights leading up to the first manned flight. Space Dogs includes never-before-published photos from the archives of Novosti, theRussian News Agency.