This Day in History: 1960-08-19

(August 19, 1960)
Korabl-Sputnik 2 was the third test mission of the Vostok spacecraft. It was the first mission to send animals into orbit and successfully return them to Earth. Two dogs (Belka and Strelka), forty mice, two rats, and a variety of plants were transported aboard the spaceship, as well as a television camera that captured images of the dogs.
photo source: wikimedia.org