About
Parisian cat and celebrity animal who became the first and only cat launched into space as part of a French aerospace biomedical experiment after being flown aboard a Véronique AG1 sounding rocket on October 18th, 1963.
Before fame
She was selected as one of 14 female cats recruited in France during the early 1960s for high altitude space research by French aeronautical medicine scientists. She underwent specialized training at French biomedical research facilities which included being secured in a custom restraint capsule and connected to biological monitoring equipment to record her neurological and physiological responses. She had electrodes surgically implanted so that data sent back during flight would include signals from multiple parts of her nervous system. She flew her historic mission on October 18th, 1963.
Trivia
She reached a height of roughly 157 kilometers which is above the internationally recognized Kármán line of 100 km which means she technically crossed into space. She was recovered about 13 minutes after launch with her capsule which demonstrated that the flight stressors were survivable for a mammal if properly equipped with life support instruments. She was sometimes referred to by the press as "Félix the Space Cat" as a playful nod to the classic cartoon character Felix the Cat. She became the subject of a crowdfunded memorial project in the 2010s and 2020s where fans and historians raised support to create a physical monument of her.
Family life
She was born in France. She was euthanized in early 1964 approximately two months after her flight so that researchers could examine her brain and other tissues for scientific study.
Associated with
She was the first cat in space and Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space.
