History - Past

The early history of space flight was deeply concerned on the part of many scientists that humans would not be able to withstand the rigors of space flight, especially in launch and relaunch, and might not be able to function usefully in space. As a result of this concern, the U.S. flew a number of monkeys aboard captured German V-2 rockets between 1948 and 1952. The data that was gathered from the monkeys space flight determined the need for effective and reliable life support systems. Between 1949 and 1956 the Soviet Union flew 15 similar flights using dogs, some reaching altitudes as high as 213 km (132 mi).

A dog named Laika was then launched aboard SPUTNIK 2 on November 3, 1957, and orbited the Earth for seven days until she was finally euthanatized. Between 1958 and 1961 the U.S. flew monkeys in several sub orbital and orbital missions. These flights showed that pulse and respiration rates, blood pressure, and performance of specific tasks were basically unaffected by space flight.

On April 12, 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri GaGarin demonstrated for the first time that human beings could safely orbit the Earth. His flight confirmed a U.S. descision to use humans rather than animals in space flights. The U.S. was still catious ,but when six U.S. astronauts who flew on Project Mercury between May 1961 and May 1963 returned in good health many of the earlier medical concerns about spaceflight were dismissed.