jun 14, 1949 - First primate in space

Description:

A rhesus monkey named Albert II was sent into space on a V2 rocket after the original test with the first monkey named Albert failed on ascent.Albert II was deemed the first primate in space. Albert I only reached 48-63 km whereas Albert II reached about 134 km. Unfortunately, Albert II died on impact after a parachute failure while landing, causing his capsule to slam into the ground. The U.S. also continued to fly monkeys into space during the 50’s and 60’s but two thirds of these monkeys ended up dead. These experiments taught scientists what not to do when sending living things into space after counting the deaths. I’d say this could have been considered a failure due to Albert II dying on impact but it was also a success as he did reach space.

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