20 August 1960: Russia’s ‘space dogs’ recovered alive

On this day in 1960, Russian mongrels Belka and Strelka became the first dogs to be recovered alive after having been shot into space.

Belka and Strelka © Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Strelka (left) and Belka (right)
(Image credit: © Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

The race to get a man into space saw all manner of beings blasted into the atmosphere before it was deemed safe for humans to have a go.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.