Forty-eight years ago today, on August 20, 1960, Belka and Strelka were the first living creatures to return alive from an orbital space flight. These two dogs were part of the old Soviet Union's space program. Space flights were by no means considered "safe"; less than a month before their flight two other dogs were lost as the Soviet booster rocket exploded on launch.
Just eight months after the dogs' flight, the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin into space to become the first human ever to orbit Earth.
- Hap Aziz