1. a humorous variation of Sputnik 2 (the Russian wordsputnik literally means traveling companion), one of the satellites launched by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. Sputnik 1, launched October 1957, was the first manmade satellite to go into space. Sputnik 2 launched in November 1957, carrying a dog, was the first satellitesent into orbit with a living creature aboard. Mutt is an affectionate, somewhat disparaging term for a dog. Mutnick would be a Sputnik carrying a dog. 2. a reference to the dog onboard the Sputnik 2.