The heroine of France: what was the name of the first and only cat-astronaut in the world

At the dawn of space exploration, mankind launched into the orbit of various animals. Before flying by himself, a person had to make sure that mammals (as the living organisms closest to humans in evolutionary terms) could withstand being in space.

Everyone knows the dogs Belka and Strelka, which were in orbit in 1960 and safely returned. After them, many more missiles with dogs on board were successfully launched. In space research of different countries, macaques, mice, rats, guinea pigs, turtles and other animals took part. But the cat visited space and returned to Earth safe and sound only once.

She was a charming Frenchwoman named Felicetta. Despite the aristocratic nickname, Felicetta was the most ordinary purebred cat, picked up on the streets of Paris. Her flight was largely the result of a coincidence. The fact is that another beast was being prepared for the flight - a cat named Felix. But, as it turned out, Felix was not too eager for the stars and disappeared from the launch site on the eve of the launch.

During the implementation of the space program of France, 14 cats were trained. It was a whole complex of serious tests: a compression chamber, a centrifuge and much more. It is interesting that only the French experimented with cats, no other country involved them in their space projects.

The first contender for the role of an astronaut was the cat Felix, and even a postage stamp was issued for this launch.

The launch of the Veronika-47 research rocket was scheduled for October 18, 1963. But after Felix disappeared, Felicetta was chosen for the role of a cat-astronaut, which eventually flew. The launch took place from the Hammagir research site in Algeria, which at that time was still French possession. This flight was not orbital. The rocket with the cat on board reached the planned altitude and safely returned to Earth, 15 minutes after the start of the flight.

The heroine Felicetta received the nickname "astro-cat" in the press and went down in history as the first and only cat-cosmonaut to date, having made a flight and safely returned to Earth.