Mission Profile
Sputnik 2, known to Korolev's design bureau as""Prosteyshiy Sputnik-2" means "Simple Satellite 2," was launched into a 212 × 1660 km (132 × 1031 mi) orbit with a period of 103.7 minutes on a modified ICBM R-7, similar to the one used to launch Sputnik 1. The R-7 was also known by its GURVO designation 8K71 as well as the "T-3, and M-104, and Type A. The R-7 modified for the PS-2 satellite launch was designated 8k71PS. After reaching orbit the nose cone was jettisoned successfully but the Blok A core did not separate as planned. This inhibited the operation of the thermal control system. Additionally some of the thermal insulation tore loose causing interior temperatures to reach 40 °C (104 °F). Laika survived for only a few hours instead of the planned ten days because of heat and stress. The orbit of Sputnik 2 decayed and it reentered Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958 after 162 days in orbit.
| Instruments | |
|---|---|
| Dog Laika: | Biological data |
| Geiger counters : | Charged particles |
| Spectrophotometers: | Solar radiation (ultraviolet and x-ray emissions) and cosmic rays |
Read more about this topic: Sputnik 2
Famous quotes containing the words mission and/or profile:
“... [a] girl one day flared out and told the principal “the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry one of those candidates [for the ministry].” He said he didn’t know but it was. And when at last that same girl announced her desire and intention to go to college it was received with about the same incredulity and dismay as if a brass button on one of those candidate’s coats had propounded a new method for squaring the circle or trisecting the arc.”
—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)
“Expecting rain, the profile of a day
Wears its soul like a hat....”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)