I have previously lamented the tragic fate of Laika, the poor Moscow stray hound sent into space by the Russians back in 1957, on Sputnik 2, with no plans to bring her home.
Laika’s body was never recovered, because Sputnik 2 broke up and burned during its re-entry into the atmosphere. So the Russians got one over the Americans by being first with a dog in orbit — but learned little about what outer space does to a dog, other than kill them.
Plenty of songs have been written about the same fate for humans: The Boss still finds David Bowie’s Space Oddity a little unnerving, as Major Tom gradually loses touch with Ground Control, and Elton John’s Rocket Man tails off into a long, long time... repeated.
Then there was Brian May’s song, ’39, for Queen, about the space travellers returning to a very different Earth after a time warp. It’s enough to give us all the shivers.
So we were both pleased to see those two astronauts finally rescued from the International Space Station this week after being stranded up there when their return to Earth in June last year failed due to mechanical problems.
Instead of a brief eight days in space, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent nine months floating around, way out towards the moon.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft that took them to the ISS developed thruster problems and helium leaks on the outwards journey, so NASA decided it musn’t be used to bring them back.
It was a humiliation for Boeing, whose efforts to join the space business fell behind at the same time as a door panel blew out on its 737 Max — but the rescue is a victory for Elon Musk’s Space X, which saw its Crew Dragon capsule docking at the ISS on Monday.
The richest man on Earth badly needs a win — here or in space will do — after his antics running The Donald’s Department of Government Efficiency, not to mention supporting Europe’s right-wing crazies and pushing both conspiracy theories and misinformation on his X platform.
The Boss thinks Mr Musk’s relief will be temporary — the same fanatical focus that made him rich will bring him unstuck.
Meanwhile, astronaut Suni Williams is putting a cheerful spin on it, calling her nine-month stay “a unique experience”. She and Butch were joined by two other space voyagers in September and conducted 900 hours of research and more than 150 scientific experiments during their mission.
They included experiments on garden watering, as well as exercises to keep astronauts fit in space.
Ms Williams said she mostly missed seeing the weather changes and walking her dogs.
“When I take them on a walk, sometimes it’s raining, sometimes it’s windy, sometimes it’s hot. But I am looking forward to feeling all that weather on earth.”
I’m with her. And her dogs will be pleased she made it home, even if Laika didn’t. Woof!
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