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Sunday, November 3, 2013

RUSSIA PUTS DOG IN SPACE

November 3, 2013

SOVIETS LAUNCH DOG INTO ORBIT ABOARD SPUTNIK II

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan (JFK+50) The USSR launched into orbit 56 years ago today, November 3, 1957,  the first animal to go into space, a 3 year old female dog named Laika.



Sputnik II was successfully launched from the world's first and largest space center, Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

The Soviets believed the mission would pave the way for human spaceflight by providing scientists with important data on how animals respond to the space environment.

Laika was not expected to survive the flight, but her death came hours after launch due to a malfunction in the cooling system which caused the on board temperature to rise to 104 degrees. 



LBJ ELECTED IN 1964 LANDSLIDE      

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Lyndon Baines Johnson, who assumed the Presidency upon the death of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, was elected in his own right 49 years ago today, November 3, 1964, in a landslide over his Republican opponent, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona.



President Lyndon B. Johnson
     Photo by Yoichi R. Okamoto
   LBJ Library Photo

The final electoral vote tally was 486 to 52.

Goldwater, known as "Mr. Conservative,"  carried only five states of the Deep South along with his home state of Arizona.




             Senator Barry Goldwater
                         (R) Arizona
  Photo by Marion S. Trikosko (1962)

LBJ carried 44 states and the District of Columbia.  The final popular vote total was 43 million to 27 million.

LBJ was to be inaugurated for his 1st full term on January 20, 1965.