BelKA later, the Dnepr rocket suffered an engine failure and crashed, destroying the satellites. The name BelKA is thought to be an allusion to the dog, Belka, who, together with Strelka orbited the Earth and returned safely on Sputnik 5 in 1960. BelKA BelKA (an acronym from Belarusian: Беларускі Касмічны Апарат, Belarusian Cosmic Apparatus) was intended to be the first satellite of independent Belarus. It was a remote sensing satellite that utilizes the Victoria universal satellite bus, developed by Belarusian researchers and Russian Rocket and Space Corporation RSC Energia for National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus as the
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR the honorary title "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR". Georgy Dobrovolsky and Viktor Patsayev, who were killed during the Soyuz 11 reentry, did not receive the title. Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR () was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest title that could be awarded to a Soviet citizen for performing heroic deeds while in service of the state. The title was established by Decree of the Presidium of