Bailey & Nala to Space & Beyond!

Wowserz… I never realized how many doggies have been to space! Did you know that animals have been involved in space programs for many, many years?

I did some searching, and I learned that the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. On that flight was a doggie named Laika. Laika didn’t return alive, but he did pave the way for at least 12 other Russian doggies to travel to space.

Between November, 1957 and March, 1961, there were 13 Russian doggies that traveled on Sputnik satellites. The five doggies that did not survive their flights are starred (*).

Laika* (Barker in Russian)
Bars* (Panther, Lynx)
Lisichka* (Little Fox)
Belka (Squirrel)
Strelka (Little Arrow)
Pchelka* (Little Bee)
Mushka* (Little Fly)
Damka (Little Lady)
Krasavka (Beauty)
Chernushka (Blackie)
Zvezdochka (Little Star).
Verterok or Veterok (Little Wind)
Ugolyok or Ugolek (Little Piece of Coal)

Nala and I thought we’d practice getting ready for the big day, which is on June 28, 2011. Let’s see how we’ll look in our NASA caps…

Hmmm… not too girlie, right?

I think Nala will rock it in space. Get it? Rock it..? Rocket… in space.
I know… bad sense of humor. 😉

You can learn more about animals in space at NASA’s website.

The above list of doggies made space history. Now it’s mine and Nala’s turn to make history.

Pack up the freeze-dried doggie biscuits, Nala, ’cause we’re gonna fly into space!

Heh, well… not what you think. 😉

We may not be physically flying into space, but we will definitely be on the next space shuttle (well, we hope so)!

I first learned of NASA’s Fly Your Face in Space Program from our friends over at The Chronicles of Cardigan — thank you guys!

I don’t know if they’ll let doggies pawticipate, but since doggies were first in space anyway… they should!

Let me tell you what the Fly Your Face in Space Program is, ’cause it sounds really exciting!

NASA says that they want to put a picture of you on the last space shuttle mission and launch it into orbit!

You’ll receive a date (after launch) to return to their site, so you could print your Flight Certificate, which is a commemorative certificate signed by the Mission Commander. <-- Signed by the Mission Commander!

You can also check on mission status, view mission photographs, link to various NASA educational resources and follow the commander and crew on Twitter or Facebook.

Doesn’t this sound awesome?! Here’s some more information about the last shuttle mission:

The 135th and final space shuttle flight (STS-135) is scheduled to launch on June 28, 2011. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.

We can’t wait to get to space. I wonder if there’ll be lizards and squirrels there?
Hey, how do you steer this thing?!

Read more about STS-135, visit NASA’s 2Explore Facebook Page, and visit the NASA Sightings Opportunities website.

People all over the world are flying into space on this last mission!

Oh! Why not see if you can fly with us on the last mission? Head over and visit NASA’s Fly Your Face in Space Program… we’re counting down the days!

Days until we blast off into space: 40 days!

Woofs & hugs,

~Bailey
P.S… If you’re a human who blogs about your furry, or a furry who blogs about your human… or even a furry who blogs about your life… I invite you to follow me via Google Friend Connect (see box in the right-hand column), and join me on Facebook. Please let me know you’ve visited — I love reading other blogs and making new friends. <3