On this day in space! Oct. 18, 1963: France's Félicette Becomes the 1st Cat in Space! >^..^<

space.com Oct 18, 2026

On this day in space! Oct. 18, 1963: France’s Félicette Becomes the 1st Cat in Space! >^..^<

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 18, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

On 18 October 1963 France launched its first animal astronaut, a stray tuxedo cat named Félicité—renamed Félicette after a launch‑day escape by a cat called Felix. The animal rode a Véronique AG1 sub‑orbital rocket to an altitude of roughly 130 miles, then returned via parachute, surviving the flight. Unlike many contemporary primate and canine missions, Félicette lived after recovery but was euthanised two months later for neurological study. A second French cat flight on 24 October ended fatally, prompting the Centre d’Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique to shift to primate experiments. Decades later, a crowdfunded bronze statue of Félicette was unveiled at the International Space University in Strasbourg in 2019, attended by European astronauts and commemorated on stamps from Chad and Comoros.

💡 Why It Matters

· Félicette’s mission gave France a distinct scientific foothold in early space‑biology research, proving that non‑primate mammals could survive sub‑orbital flight.
· The 2019 statue and stamp tributes have turned a forgotten experiment into a cultural touchstone, reminding audiences that space history includes diverse, unexpected contributors.

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