Vladimir Yazdovsky (1913–1999) was a Russian physician in the former Soviet space program.
Yazdovsky was a veteran surgeon and army doctor who joined the Institute for Aviation and Medeicine in Moscow in 1948.[1] There, in the early 1950s, Yazdovsky assisted Sergei Korolev in tests using small animals in sub-orbital spaceflight.[2] His team of researchers helped gather strays from Moscow and helped design various safety measures such as space suits and life-support systems.[3]
In 1957 he prepared the dog Laika, the first animal to orbit, the Earth for Sputnik 2.[4] In 1960 Yazdovsky prepared the dogs Belka and Strelka for Korabl-Sputnik 2, the first spaceflight to launch animals into orbit and return them alive to Earth.[5]