Launch of Soviet Space Dogs

Date: July 22, 1951 • Location: Znamensk, Russian Federation

Soviet space dogs: Dezik and Tsygan were launched into a sub-orbital spaceflight from Kapustin Yar and became the first dogs to fly in space and the first to safely return.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet space program used dogs for suborbital and orbital space flights as proof-of-concept to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. The Soviet space program typically used female dogs due to their anatomical compatibility with the spacesuit. Similarly, they used mix-breed dogs due to their apparent hardiness.