Species Felis catus | ||
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Félicette is currently the only cat to have been sent into space and survive. She was the first cat to be sent into space by any country.
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History
On 3 November 1957 the Soviets sent Laika, a dog, into space on Sputnik 2. The dog was a stray found on the streets of Moscow. It died in space, and was the first living animal to enter space. Enos was the first chimpanzee that orbited the Earth on 29 November 1961, sent by the Americans (NASA). He survived the flight, and orbited the Earth in one hour and 28 minutes.
Space mission
The French had around fourteen cats in training (in equipment such as high-G centrifuges and compression chambers) in 1963. The animals were being trained by the Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique (CERMA).
On 18 October 1963 at 8:09am, on the French sounding rocket (for research) Véronique AGI 47 (made in Vernon, Eure, Upper Normandy or Haute-Normandie), Félicette, a black and white female cat found on the streets of Paris, was sent into space. Véronique came from the German World War II Aggregate (rocket family) (A8), and also led to the French Diamant satellite launcher.
The Veronique AGI was developed for the International Geophysical Year (Année géophysique internationale) in 1957 for biological research. Seven, out of the fifteen made, would carry live animals.
It was a non-orbital flight, and lasted fifteen minutes, reaching a height of 156 kilometres. The cat was recovered safely after the capsule parachuted to Earth.