Original Post from Brad Acker:
Today in space history: First spaceflight for animals safely returned to Earth
On August 19, 1960 — 54 years ago today — two dogs (Belka and Strelka), a rabbit, 42 mice, 2 rats, flies and several plants and fungi were sent into space aboard a Vostok spacecraft, the Korabl-Sputnik 2, and these passengers became the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive.
A year after this flight, and before the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the puppies from the litter of Strelka was presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as a goodwill present. President Kennedy’s advisers initially opposed accepting the dog for fear that it might have been planted with microphones so the Soviets could listen to national defense meetings! (Solution: Accept the goodwill gesture, and just keep the dog out of the meeting rooms!)
Sources:
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Image credit:
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