In 2000, Hymer AG acquired the Italian motorhome manufacturer Laika.
He first came to musical prominence in 1998 as a 4AD signing under the moniker Starry Smooth Hound, releasing a track co-produced by Guy Fixsen (of Too Pure band Laika) on the label sampler Anakin.
It contains tales about an abandoned Ukrainian city (Prypiat), the first dog in space (Laika), Yuri Gagarin’s very own postcode (Moscow 705) and a private seaside in Sweden (Amine).
The popHealth open source software is currently being designed and developed by the MITRE Corporation, using components of the MITRE free open source Laika EHR testing framework.
If neither had taken place, Russian Mission Control had planned to euthanize Laika with poisoned food, as she would have burned up in the atmosphere during re-entry.