Science: 1957 Beta

Kudryavka (Little Curly), the first living creature to travel around the earth through space, first barked over the Moscow radio on Oct. 27. Dressed in a custom space suit, she had already ridden a short while before that in a rocket, and had suffered no ill effects. This week she made history as the passenger in Sputnik IIĀ—also called Muttnik.

The second Soviet satellite, officially named 1957 Beta by International Geophysical Year authorities, is much more ambitious than 1957 Alpha (Sputnik I). According to Moscow, it weighs more than six times as much (1,120.8 Ibs.), and it circles on a higher orbit,...

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