Félicette: The Story of the First Cat in Space

France Launches First Cat Into Space

On Oct. 18, 1963, a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris named Félicette became the first feline to fly into space, Space reported. While the United States and the Soviet Union concentrated their early space programs on launching primates, dogs, and humans, the French space research program turned its attention to felines.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Félicette boarded a French Véronique AG1 rocket and reached an altitude of 130 miles above Earth.
• The cat successfully parachuted back down and survived the initial spaceflight, unlike many animal astronauts of that era.
• The secondary launch on Oct. 24 veered off course, resulting in the death of the second animal and shifting French research focus to monkeys.

The Substitute Cat That Reached Orbit

Félicette was not the original choice for the flight. She served as a substitute for another cat named Felix, who managed to escape on launch day, according to Space. Once secured in the Véronique AG1 rocket, the cat soared 130 miles high before her capsule descended and safely parachuted back to the ground.

The mission was managed by CERMA, the Centre d’Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique. While Félicette survived the physical stresses of the flight, researchers euthanized her two months after recovery in order to study her brain, Space reported.

The Ill-Fated Follow-Up Flight

Just days later, on Oct. 24, 1963, the French space program launched a second cat. That flight did not go according to plan, veering significantly off course.

Following the loss of the second animal, CERMA altered its research parameters entirely, abandoning feline test subjects and shifting its animal spaceflight research to flying monkeys.

Bronze Statue and Stamps Honor Félicette

Félicette nearly faded into an obscure historical footnote until a crowdfunded campaign raised funds for a memorial statue nearly 60 years later, Space reported. In 2019, a bronze sculpture of Félicette was unveiled at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. European astronauts Helen Sharman, Paolo Nespoli, and Reinhold Ewald attended the unveiling ceremony.

In addition to the physical monument in Strasbourg, postal administrations in Chad and Comoros issued commemorative stamps featuring Félicette. Reports surfaced in 2013 that Iran planned to launch a cat into space the following year, but that flight never materialized, leaving Félicette and her unnamed classmate as the only felines to ever fly on a rocket.