Editing Animals in space (section)

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Animals In Rocket Flight.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=2:39|left|''Animals In Rocket Flight'', a 1953 US Air Force film featuring two mice and two monkeys in a 37-mile high subspace flight]]
On 31 August 1950, the U.S. launched a [[mouse]] into space (137&nbsp;km) aboard a V-2 (the Albert V flight, which, unlike the Albert I-IV flights, did not have a monkey), however, the animal died following descent because the parachute system failed.<ref>[http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-animals-astronauts-in-space.php "Top 10 Animal Astronauts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120912222937/http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-animals-astronauts-in-space.php |date=12 September 2012 }}. ''Toptenz.net''.</ref> The U.S. launched several other mice in the 1950s.

On 22 July 1951, the Soviet Union launched the [[R-1 (missile)|R-1]] IIIA-1 flight, carrying the [[dog]]s [[Dezik and Tsygan |Tsygan ]] ({{langx|ru|Цыган}}, "Gypsy" or "Țigan/Țagaur" in romani language) and [[Dezik and Tsygan|Dezik]] ({{langx|ru|Дезик}}) into space, but not into orbit.<ref name="Siddiqi, p.95">{{cite book|title=Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974|author=Asif. A. Siddiqi|year=2000|publisher=NASA|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf|page=95|access-date=12 July 2017|archive-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916023444/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> These two dogs were the first living higher organisms successfully recovered from a spaceflight.<ref name="Siddiqi, p.95"/> Both [[Soviet space dogs|space dogs]] survived the flight, although Dezik would die on a subsequent flight. The U.S. launched mice aboard spacecraft later that year; however, they failed to reach the altitude for true spaceflight.

On 3 November 1957, the second-ever orbiting spacecraft carried the first animal into orbit, the dog [[Laika]],<ref name="AT-20171103" /> launched aboard the Soviet [[Sputnik 2]] spacecraft (nicknamed 'Muttnik' in the West). Laika died during the flight, as was expected because the technology to return spacecraft from orbit had not yet been developed.<ref name="AT-20171103" /> At least 10 other dogs were launched into orbit and [[Soviet space dogs|numerous others]] on sub-orbital flights before the historic date of 12 April 1961, when [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first human in space.

On 13 December 1958, a [[Jupiter IRBM]], AM-13, was launched from [[Cape Canaveral]], Florida, with a [[United States Navy]]-trained South American [[squirrel monkey]] named [[Gordo (space monkey)|Gordo]] on board. The nose cone recovery parachute failed to operate and Gordo was lost. [[Telemetry]] data sent back during the flight showed that the monkey survived the 10&nbsp;[[g-force|g]] of launch, 8 minutes of weightlessness and 40&nbsp;''g'' of reentry at {{convert|16,000|km/h|m/s mph|abbr=on}}. The nose cone sank {{convert|1302|nmi|km}} downrange from Cape Canaveral and was not recovered.

[[Monkey]]s Miss Able and [[Miss Baker]] became the first monkeys to survive spaceflight after their 1959 flight. On 28 May 1959, aboard [[Jupiter IRBM]] AM-18, were a {{convert|3|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} American-born [[rhesus monkey]], Able, from Independence, Kansas, and a {{convert|310|g|oz|0|abbr=on}} [[squirrel monkey]] from Peru, Baker. The monkeys rode in the nose cone of the missile to an altitude of {{convert|579|km|mi|abbr=on}} and a distance of {{convert|2735|km|mi|abbr=on}} down the Atlantic Missile Range from Cape Canaveral, Florida. They withstood forces 38 times the normal pull of gravity and were weightless for about 9 minutes. A top speed of {{convert|16,000|km/h|m/s mph|abbr=on}} was reached during their 16-minute flight. The monkeys survived the flight in good condition. Able died four days after the flight from a reaction to anesthesia, while undergoing surgery to remove an infected medical electrode. Baker was the center of media attention for the next several months as she was watched closely for any ill-effects from her space flight. She was even mated in an attempt to test her reproductive system.<ref>"Space Monkey to be a Bride." ''New York Times'':6. 14 August 1959. ''ProQuest''Web. 22 November 2015.</ref> Baker lived until 29 November 1984, at the [[U.S Space and Rocket Center|U.S. Space and Rocket Center]] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]].

On 2 July 1959, a launch of a Soviet R2 rocket, which reached {{convert|212|km|mi}}, carried two space dogs and Marfusha, the first rabbit to go into space.<ref name=Beischer1962 />

A 19 September 1959 launch, a Jupiter AM-23, carried two frogs and 12 mice but was destroyed during launch.<ref name=Beischer1962 />

On 4 December 1959, a rhesus macaque Sam flew on the [[Little Joe 2]] mission of [[Project Mercury]] to an altitude of {{convert|53|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Beischer1962/>