On August 19, 1960, the Sputnik 5 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. In its capsule were the two little bitchs Belka (Squirrel) and Strelka (Arrow.)
The specimens that were selected and trained should not have exceeded to 12 kilograms in weight, 35 centimeters to height, and were between 2 and 6 years old. All of them female, since it was easier to develop a device for their evacuations. And light in color so that they could be distinguished through the primitive black and white tube monitors.
The air was renewed them and they ate a protein paste that combined food and hydration.
The satellite landed on the Earth the next day, after a 25-hour flight that completed 17 orbits of the Earth.
Both animals became the first living beings to be recovered safely and in life on a space flight.
Less than a year later, in April 1961, the Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard of Vostok I would become the first human being to orbit the Earth.
This is a commemorative Postcard from the era of Belka and Strelka's flight.