Vostok programme it into an even higher orbit. The orbit eventually decayed, and it re-entered the atmosphere several years later. The next six launches were all of the "Vostok 1K" design, equipped with life-support facilities, and planned to be recovered after orbit. The first spacecraft launched on July 28, 1960 carried two space dogs named Chayka and Lisichka. An explosion destroyed the spacecraft shortly after launch, killing both dogs, and the mission was not given a name. The next mission, designated Korabl-Sputnik 2, was launched on August 19, 1960, carrying two more dogs, Belka and Strelka, as well as a variety of
Animals in space 31 August 1950, the U.S. launched a mouse into space (137 km) aboard a V-2 (the Albert V flight, which, unlike the Albert I-IV flights, did not have a monkey), but the rocket disintegrated because the parachute system failed. The U.S. launched several other mice in the 1950s. On 22 July 1951, the Soviet Union launched the R-1 IIIA-1 flight, carrying the dogs Tsygan (, "Gypsy") and Dezik () into space, but not into orbit. These two dogs were the first living higher organisms successfully recovered from a spaceflight. Both space dogs survived the flight, although one would die on