What breed was laika the space dog

Laika was the first living creature to orbit Earth. On Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviet Union lofted a dog named Laika aboard the satellite Sputnik 2.

However, Laika was not the first animal in space. That distinction goes to some fruit flies that the United States launched on a suborbital mission in February 1947. Despite her fame, she also was not the first dog in space; the Soviet Union launched two dogs named Dezik and Tsygan in 1951.

Photos: Pioneering animals in space

Who was Laika the space dog?

Laika was a black-and-white mutt originally named Kudrayavka, or Little Curly. Her later name, which means Barker, came about when she barked during a radio interview. (In the U.S. press, she was sometimes called Muttnik.) Laika weighed about 13 pounds (6 kilograms) at the time of her flight, according to NASA.

Laika's launch pad to fame were the streets of Moscow. Soviet rocket scientists wanted to send dogs to space to better under Animals in space.