According to Russian sources, the official decision to launch Sputnik 2 was made on 10 or 12 October, leaving less than four weeks to design and build the spacecraft.
Prema ruskim izvorima, zvanična odluka o lansiranju Sputnjika 2 doneta je 10. ili 12. oktobra, čime je timu ostavljeno samo četiri nedelje da dizajnira i izradi svemirsku letelicu.