Launched by the U.S.S.R., Sputnik 2 was a 4-metre-high (13 ft) cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 metres (6.6 ft) that weighed around 500 kilograms (1,100 lb), though it was not designed to separate from the rocket core that brought it to orbit, bringing the total mass in orbit to 7.79 tonnes (17,200 lb). Laika died on the fourth orbit due to overheating caused by an air conditioning malfunction. Sputnik 2 ( Russian pronunciation:, Russian: Спутник-2, Satellite 2), or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 ( PS-2, Russian: Простейший Спутник 2, Simplest Satellite 2) was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on 3 November 1957, and the first to carry a living animal, a Soviet space dog named Laika.
