Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit and was the first to launch a living creature. The satellite was a 4 meter high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters. It contained several compartments for radio transmitte...

Before joint missions, such as Apollo and Soyuz, could take place, both nations had to find a compelling rationale for cooperation, ultimately overcoming the seemingly insurmountable barriers to foster genuine cooperative space projects.