Sputnik 2 was a Soviet Union spacecraft. It was the second spacecraft in the Sputnik programme. It was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog called Laika. It was launched on 3 October 1957 at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Scientists think that Laika died several hours after launch from overheating. The spacecraft went into orbit around Earth for roughly five months. It went down into Earth's atmosphere on 14 April 1958 and burned up.