Editing Sputnik 2 (section)

==Background==
In 1955, engineer [[Mikhail Tikhonravov]] created a proposal for "Object D", a satellite massing {{cvt|1000|kg}} to {{cvt|1400|kg}}, about a fourth of which would be devoted to scientific instruments. Upon learning that this spacecraft would outmass the announced American satellite by nearly 1,000 times, Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] advocated for the proposal, which was approved by the government in Resolution #149-88 of 30 January 1956. Work began on the project in February with a launch date of latter 1957, in time for the [[International Geophysical Year]]. The design was finalized on 24 July.<ref name=rsp>{{cite book|title=Russian Space Probes: Scientific Discoveries and Future Missions|author1=Brian Harvey|author2=Olga Zakutnyaya|date=2011|publisher=Springer Praxis Books|location=Chichester,UK|oclc=1316077842}}</ref>{{rp|25}}

By the end of 1956, it had become clear that neither the complicated Object D nor the 8A91 satellite launch vehicle version of the R-7 ICBM under development to launch it would be finished in time for a 1957 launch. Thus, in December 1956, [[OKB-1]] head [[Sergei Korolev]] proposed the development of two simpler satellites: PS, Prosteishy Sputnik, or Primitive Satellite. The two PS satellites would be simple spheres massing {{cvt|83.4|kg}} and equipped solely with a radio antenna. The project was approved by the government on 25 January 1957.<ref name=drew>{{cite web|url=https://www.drewexmachina.com/2017/11/03/sputnik-2-the-first-animal-in-orbit/|author=Andrew LePage|title=Sputnik 2: The First Animal in Orbit|website=Drew Ex Machina|date=3 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=rsp/>{{rp|27}} The choice to launch these two instead of waiting for the more advanced Object D (which would eventually become [[Sputnik 3]]) to be finished was largely motivated by the desire to launch a satellite to orbit before the US. The first of these satellites, [[Sputnik 1]] (PS-1), was successfully launched 4 October 1957, and became the world's first artificial satellite.<ref name=challenge/>

Immediately following the launch, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] asked [[Sergei Korolev]] to prepare a Sputnik 2 in time for the 40th anniversary of the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik revolution]] in early November, just three weeks later.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Reconsidering Sputnik: Forty years since the Soviet satellite|last=Logsdon|first=Launius|publisher=Hardwood Academic|year=2000|isbn=90-5702-623-6|location=Australia|pages=86, 101}}</ref> Details of the conversation vary, but it appears likely that Korolev suggested the idea of flying a dog, while Khrushchev emphasised the importance of the date.<ref name=challenge/>{{rp|171–172}}

With only three weeks to prepare, OKB-1 had to scramble to assemble a new satellite. While PS-2 had been built, it was just a ball, identical to PS-1. Fortunately, the [[R-5 Pobeda|R-5A]] sounding rocket had recently been used to launch a series of suborbital missions carrying dogs as payloads. Korolev simply requisitioned a payload container used for these missions and had it installed in the upper stage of its [[R-7 Semyorka|R-7]] launching rocket directly beneath the PS-2 sphere.<ref name=rsp/>{{rp|30}} Upon reaching orbit, the final stage or Blok A would detach from the satellite.<ref name=drew/> No provision was made for the dog's recovery.<ref name=challenge/>{{rp|172}}