July 22, 1951 –
Two Russian dogs, Dezik and Tsygan, were the first canines to make a sub-orbital flight in history on this date.
The Russian space program used dogs quite often to determine whether a particular space mission would be safe for humans. Little know fact: the real reason Nikita Khrushchev slammed his shoe on the desk in the UN – Khrushchev had just been passed a note about a ten year investigation of Tsygan’s over-familiarity with his shoe.
And so it goes
The Haus of Dcaligari 