On Oct. 18, 1963, a cat went to space! Félicette was a French "catstronaut" who became the first and only feline to fly to space. ‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com
While the U.S. and Soviet Union were busy launching primates, dogs and humans, the French decided to join the space race by launching a cat. Félicette, a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris, was a substitute for another cat named Felix, who somehow escaped on launch day. So Félicette went where no cat had ever gone before. She boarded a French Véronique AG1 rocket and soared 130 miles above the Earth before safely parachuting back down. Luckily Félicette made it home alive and well, unlike many of the other animal astronauts that flew during the space race.
While the U.S. and Soviet Union were busy launching primates, dogs and humans, the French decided to join the space race by launching a cat. Félicette, a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris, was a substitute for another cat named Felix, who somehow escaped on launch day. So Félicette went where no cat had ever gone before. She boarded a French Véronique AG1 rocket and soared 130 miles above the Earth before safely parachuting back down. Luckily Félicette made it home alive and well, unlike many of the other animal astronauts that flew during the space race.
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00:00On this day in space.
00:03In 1963, a cat went to space.
00:06Félicette was a French cat-stronaut who became the first and only feline to fly to space.
00:11While the U.S. and Soviet Union were busy launching primates, dogs, and humans,
00:15the French decided to join the space race by launching a cat.
00:18Félicette, a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris,
00:22was a substitute for another cat named Felix who somehow escaped on launch day.
00:26So Félicette went where no cat had ever gone before.
00:29She boarded a French Véronique AG-1 rocket and soared 130 miles above the Earth
00:34before safely parachuting back down.
00:36Luckily, Félicette made it home alive and well,
00:39unlike many of the other animal astronauts that flew during the space race.
00:42And that's what happened on this day in space.