A chimpanzee made space history 60 years ago
On Nov. 29, 1961, Enos took his famous flight. The chimpanzee flew into space aboard one of the Mercury Atlas 5 rockets built by San Diego’s Convair Division of General Dynamics. The Mercury spacecraft orbited Earth twice and later splashed down in the Atlantic, where he was recovered.
The spaceflight was conducted as a practice run for the Mercury launch on Feb. 20, 1962, which would make John Glenn the first American to orbit Earth.
During the flight, engineers at General Dynamics Astronautics set up an unofficial tracking station on the roof of one of the Astronautics buildings here and monitored the heartbeat and respiration of the globe-circling space ape, and also recorded data on the Mercury capsule’s position in relation to Earth.
The day after Enos’ historic flight, the front page of the Union covered the story. And a reporter from the Evening Tribune sought a tongue-in-cheek reaction from a concerned local source — fellow chimpanzees at the San Diego Zoo. From The San Diego Union, Thursday Nov. 30, 1961:
CHIMP ORBITS EARTH TWICE; GLENN SET FOR MANNED TRIP ENOS RECOVERED SAFELY; TROUBLE CUTS FLIGHT SHORT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Nov. 29 (UPI) — American scientists rocketed a chimpanzee twice around the earth today in a crucial preliminary to manned orbital flight and deftly took him out of orbit to save his life after trouble broke out in the Mercury spacecraft.
Shortly afterward Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., a Marine lieutenant colonel, was tagged by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to make America’s first manned orbital trip when scientists are convinced the Mercury-Atlas vehicle is ready. That had been expected in a few weeks.
From the Evening Tribune, Thursday, Nov. 30, 1961: ZOO CHIMPS CAGEY ABOUT SPACE RIDE
Most chimps at the San Diego Zoo were totally unprepared yesterday for the around-the-world flight of their famed kinsman, Enos.
Cindy and Johnny were at the zoo hospital, nursing colds and indisposed.
The four big chimpanzees on Ape Mesa sulked in their cages, unaware that Enos was in orbit.
Lucy, the 4-yearold, was the only member of the zoo’s chimp colony well enough and happy enough to receive the press.
She first tried to eat the newspaper that carried headlines about Enos’ double orbit around the earth yesterday and his safe return.
Then when the banner “U.S. ORBITS CHIMP TWICE, BRINGS ANIMAL BACK ALIVE” was brought into proper perspective, Lucy seemed amazed and impressed.
Asked for comment, Lucy rolled her lips about, showed her teeth, and said, “cheep.”
When told that orbiting Enos cost several million bananas, Lucy just scratched her tummy.
DARK EYES FLASH LUCY RECEIVES PRESS HEADLINES AMAZE
“How would you like to take the next rocket ride,” the reporter asked.
A startled look came into Lucy’s dark eyes.
She leaped into her trainer’s arms and buried her head. Then as the reporter turned to go, Lucy looked up, wiggled her lips and stuck out her tongue.