{"id":37702,"date":"2022-10-14T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T08:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=112736"},"modified":"2022-10-14T08:22:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T08:22:10","slug":"the-story-of-felicette-the-first-cat-in-space","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-story-of-felicette-the-first-cat-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"The story of F\u00e9licette, the first cat in space"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Stuart Atkinson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 14 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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T<\/span>he chances are, if you saw a crossword clue \u2018Animal that flew into space (3)\u2019, you\u2019d think of Laika and write, \u201cDog\u201d.<\/p>\n

And it might be right, but there\u2019s another correct answer.<\/p>\n

In October 1963 a small, black and white cat called F\u00e9licette travelled where no feline had gone before \u2013 or has gone since.<\/p>\n

But why is F\u00e9licette overlooked when Laika is so loved? Perhaps because her rocket looked like a firework compared to Laika\u2019s powerful booster.<\/p>\n

Or maybe it\u2019s because she only flew to the edge of space, on the same kind of suborbital flight that billionaires now pay a fortune for.<\/p>\n

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F\u00e9licette, the first cat in space, is strapped into a launch seat to be loaded into the Veronique rocket. Credit: ina.fr\/youtube.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

How F\u00e9licette was chosen for spaceflight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

F\u00e9licette\u2019s story began in 1961 when, following the superpowers\u2019 successful flights putting animals in space<\/a>, France decided to stage a series of missions of its own, using cats instead of dogs or monkeys, hoping to collect data that would allow them to launch their own astronauts later. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourteen female cats were subsequently acquired by French CERMA space scientists.<\/span><\/p>\n

To prevent the scientists from becoming attached to them, the cats were given numbers instead of names. They were also fitted with electrodes to record their brain activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cats underwent \u2018astronaut training\u2019. To test their reaction to being confined, they were put into small containers for long periods.<\/p>\n

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They were also spun around in a centrifuge, simulating the G-forces of lift-off and re-entry.<\/p>\n

Eventually six cats were chosen to go through to the next stage, including a tuxedo cat known then only as \u2018C341\u2019.<\/p>\n

Laika flew into orbit atop a tall, chunky Sputnik rocket very similar to the Vostok booster that would carry Yuri Gagarin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But with its tail fins and pointed nose, C341\u2019s slim Veronique AGI booster looked more like a child\u2019s drawing of a rocket.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t even use a conventional launch tower. Instead, its weight was supported by a quartet of long fins, like the legs of a Christmas tree stand.<\/p>\n