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Animal Astronauts A listing of the animals that paved the way for human space flight Part 1

The first part of our Animal Astronaut listing covers all biological suborbital test flights between February 20, 1947, the first test launch of living beeings into space and November 3, 1957, when the first orbital flight of an animal took place.

February 20, 1947 Fruit Flies

Blossom 1 First animals in space. A modified V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico carried fruit flies to an altitude of 109 km and was successfully recovered with the flies being alive.

June 11, 1948 Albert I

Blossom 2 First mammal to ride a rocket. Rhesus monkey Albert I reached an altitude of 62.3 km in a modified V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico. Albert died of suffocation during the flight.

June 14, 1949 Albert II

Blossom 4 First mammal to reach space. A modified V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico carried rhesus monkey Albert II to an altitude of 135 km. The monkey died on return impact due to parachute failure.

September 16, 1949 Albert III

Blossom 5 A modified V-2 rocket with cynomolgus monkey Albert III exploded during launch in White Sands, New Mexico.

December 8, 1949 Albert IV

Blossom 6 A modified V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico carried rhesus monkey Albert IV to an altitude of 130.3 km. Again, the monkey died on return impact due to parachute failure.

August 31, 1950 Mouse

Blossom 7 A modified V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico carried carried an un-named, un-anaesthetized mouse to an altitude of 136.4 km. The official report, stating that "... the mouse was photographed by a camera, which survived the impact" led some sources to assume that the mouse actually survived, while other sources report, it died on impact.

April 18, 1951 Albert V

Aeromed 1 The first animal flying on an Aerobee rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico, was a rhesus monkey sometimes referred to as Albert V. The rocket reached an altitude of 61.2 km, but the monkey died due to parachute failure. There is no picture of the animal.

July 22, 1951 Dezik & Tsygan

R-1V No. 1 First mammals safely returned from space A Soviet modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Dezik and Tsygan (picture) to an altitude of 110 km and returned them safely to earth.

July 29, 1951 Dezik & Lisa

R-1B No. 1 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Dezik and Lisa to an altitude of 100 km. On return, the dogs were killed on impact due to a parachute failure. Dezik was the first animal to fly in space twice.

August 15, 1951 Mishka & Chizhick

R-1B No. 2 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Mishka (picture) and Chizhick to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely to earth.

August 19, 1951 Smelaya & Malyshka

R-1V No. 2 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Smelaya (picture) and Malyshka to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely to earth.

August 28, 1951 Mishka & Chizhick

R-1B No. 3 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Mishka (picture) and Chizhick on their second flight to an altitude of 100 km. The cabin was recovered safely, but both dogs had suffocated due to a faulty pressure regulator.

September 3, 1951 Neputyovy & ZIB

R-1B No. 4 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Neputyovy and ZIB to an altitude of 100 km. One of the original dogs named Bobik escaped shortly before launch and was replaced by a captured stray named ZIB (a Russian acronym for 'Substitute for Missing Dog Bobik').

September 20, 1951 Yorick

Aeromed 2 First Monkey to survive a rocket ride An Aerobee rocket launched from Holloman Air Development Center, New Mexico, carried rhesus monkey Yorick and eleven mice to an altitude of 70.8 km. All animals survived the ride, but Yorick and two of the mice died two hours later as their container overheated in the desert sun, before the recovery team found them. There are no pictures of the animals.

May 21, 1952 Patricia & Mike Mildred & Albert

Aeromed 3 An Aerobee rocket launched from Holloman, New Mexico, carried two Philippine monkeys (Patricia and Mike) and two mice (Mildred & Albert) to an altitude of 26 km. All animals were recovered safely. There are conflicting data. Some sources report the date as May 22 and the altitude as 58 km

June 26, 1954 Lisa II & Rzyhik II

R-1D No. 1 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Lisa II and Rzyhik II to an altitude of 106 km. There are no pictures of the animals.

July 2, 1954 Damka & Mishka II

R-1D No. 2 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Damka and Mishka II to an altitude of 100 km. Damka was recovered alive, but Mishka II did not survive the flight. There are no pictures of the animals.

July 7, 1954 Damka & Rzyhik II

R-1D No. 3 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Damka and Rzyhik II to an altitude of 100 km. Damka was recovered alive after her third flight, but Rzyhik II did not survive her second flight. There are no pictures of the animals.

January 25, 1955 Dogs

R-1E No. 1 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried two dogs to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely. There are no detailed reports or pictures of this flight.

February 5, 1955 Bulba & Lisa II

R-1E No. 2 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Bulba (picture) and Lisa II (on her second flight) crashed after reaching an altitude of only 40 km, killing both dogs.

June 25, 1955 Linda & Rita

R-1E No. 3 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Linda (picture) and Rita to an altitude of 100 km. Linda was recovered alive, but Rita did not survive the flight. There is conflicting information about this flight. Russian Wikipedia reports it as a Biological R-1E flight, while Encyclopedia Astronautica reports it as an operational test of a R18A11 rocket..

November 4, 1955 Malyshka & Knopka

R-1E No. 4 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Malyshka (picture) and Knopka to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely.

May 14, 1956 Albina & Kozyavka

R-1E No. 5 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Albina and Kozyavka (picture) to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely.

May 31, 1956 Malyshka & Linda

R-1E No. 6 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Malyshka (picture) and Linda to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely.

June 7, 1956 Albina & Kozyavka

R-1E No. 7 A modified V-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Albina (picture) and Kozyavka to an altitude of 100 km and returned them safely.

May 16, 1957 Rzyhaya & Damka

R-2A No. 4 The first operational flight of a Soviet R-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Rzyhaya and Damka to an altitude of 212 km and returned them safely. There is no picture of Damka. For a picture of Rzyhaya see below. The launch is not mentioned in Russian Wikipedia.

May 24, 1957 Rzyhaya & Dzhoyna

R-2A No. 5 An R-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Rzyhaya and Dzhoyna to an altitude of 200 km. The dogs died when their cabin decompressed

August 25, 1957 Belka & Modnista

R-2A No. 15 An R-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Belka and Modnista to an altitude of 206 km and returned them safely.

August 31, 1957 Belka & Damka

R-2A No. 17 An R-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Belka and Damka to an altitude of 206 km and returned them safely. There is no picture of Damka. For a picture of Belka see below.

September 9, 1957 Belka & Modnista

R-2A No. 18 An R-2 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, U.S.S.R. carried dogs Belka and Modnista on their second flight together to an altitude of 212 km and returned them safely. Russian Wikipedia reports the date as September 6, 1957.

The second part of our Animal Astronaut listing covers all biological suborbital and orbital test flights between November 3, 1957 - the first orbital flight of an animal - and April 12, 1961 - the date of the first human space flight.

Click here to move on to part 2.

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