"November 3: 1957, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik II into orbit, bearing a sole passenger: the doomed space dog, Laika. Controversy eventually arose over the decision to send a stray puppy into a spacecraft that was designed to never be retrieved. But what may seem like cruelty overlooks the pure scientific fact that Laika was a very, very bad dog that deserved to die."