Laika the dog gets all the credit for paving humanity's path to the stars. But the harsh reality is that she didn't survive before returning to Earth in 1957. The distinction of "first dogs to orbit ...

MOSCOW – MOSCOW (AP) — Russia remembered two unlikely national heroes Thursday — a pair of skinny street mutts who moved the Soviet Union into the lead of the space race when they became the first ...

"The vast majority of buildings in Moscow and other Russian cities are built after WWII and before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. For many people, these buildings represent an unpleasant ...

And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: August 20, 1960 -- 57 years ago today -- a date that gives new meaning to the expression "dog days of summer." For that was the day space dogs Belka ...

On August 19, 1960, the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 5 capsule containing 40 mice, two rats, a rabbit, some fruit flies, plants—and a pair of dogs, Belka ("Whitey") and Strelka ("Little Arrow.") ...

Not all scientific achievements were made by men. In fact, some of the greatest accomplishments were made by dogs. Meet Belka and Strelka, the first earthlings to survive orbital flight. On August 19, ...