Félicette, the Feline Astronaut

During the space race of the mid-20th century, the US and the Soviet Union were in a hurry to launch rockets into space, and eventually human pilots. The US sent up fruit flies, then mice and monkeys to test whether such a trip would be survivable. The Soviets sent dogs. But it wasn't just a Cold War project. The French wanted to go to space, too. In 1963, a cat named Félicette became the first and only cat in space, launched in a French rocket for a 10-minute suborbital flight, which she survived.

Not that Félicette was thrilled by the experience. She underwent all the unpleasant tasks that astronauts later went through to be chosen for space flight, without understanding the purpose. She was fitted with brain electrodes for the trip. She sustained more than 9Gs at launch. And that wasn't the worst of it. But Félicette was a hero to scientists studying the possibilities of space travel. Stefan Chin tells her story for SciShow.