◆ On this day

November 3

4 sourced moments from November 3 in history: Panama declared independence, clearing the way for the canal (1903); Laika was the first animal in orbit, but not in space (1957); Sputnik 2 weighed 508 kg, six times Sputnik 1 (1957), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on November 3

newest first ↓

1957 Space · Space Exploration

Laika was the first animal in orbit, but not in space

A Moscow stray rode Sputnik 2 into orbit in 1957 on a one-way trip, a decade after fruit flies became the first animals in space.

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1957 Space · Space Exploration

Sputnik 2 weighed 508 kg, six times Sputnik 1

Launched a month after Sputnik 1, the craft carrying Laika outweighed America's first satellite 36 times over — and its passenger died within hours.

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1957 History · Modern

Laika wasn't the first dog in space; the 1951 dogs came home

Soviet dogs were riding rockets to 100 km and parachuting back six years before Laika's one-way orbit aboard Sputnik 2 in 1957.

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1903 History · Modern

Panama declared independence, clearing the way for the canal

When Colombia balked at a canal treaty, Panama broke away in a near-bloodless revolt that Washington was happy to encourage.

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