On November 3, 1957, just 32 days after the launch of Sputnik 1, Russia successfully launched Sputnik 2, and this time, the satellite contained a living space traveler—a dog named Laika. The unfortunate canine died a few hours after launch, but it seemed to most Americans that the Soviet Union was able to launch space vehicles at will while the United States had failed to put a single item in orbit.
