The first animal to orbit the Earth was
Laika -who died an untimely death several hours after the launch of Sputnik 2, way back in 1957. She was one of the soviet space dogs (Americans preferred monkeys and mice). During the early years of the space age, before manned space missions were attempted, these animals captured our collective imagination.
Science fiction had already paved the way for what came to be seen as obvious: if mankind was to reach the stars, our best friend would be wagging it's tail by our side. Such an optimistic innocence carries a distinct taste of the '50s. This is the zeitgeist explored in the
Atomic50s shop, and that's where I found this tender design of a dog in space uniform. A cute little cartoon, that looks great in this hooded sweatshirt, simple and expressive.