The first primate astronaut was a rhesus macaque named Albert II. He rode a V2 rocket 83 miles straight up, to where earth's troposphere ends and only the cold lonely expanse of empty space lies ahead. His monkey eyes were the first to see this big blue marble we call home from a distance.
When the rocket reached the end of its velocity, it turned back toward earth and Albert II was ejected to parachute back home. The parachute failed. Albert II died on impact. There was nothing left to save after a fall from that height.
This happened on 14 June 1949.
—[Get ready folks. We are about to take a ride as wild as the one Albert II took. Hopefully, we will end up none the worse for wear. More to follow behind the paywall. If you are not a paid subscriber, you are missing out on the good stuff.
Prepare yourselves for a month of monkey business!! Let the games begin.
Your humble narrator, -MK.]
