Felicette, the First Cat in Space: How the World Almost Forgot the Feline Astronaut
On October 18, 1963, a French black-and-white cat Félicette became the first cat in space. She returned safely from her space mission, but her story didn’t end there. Here’s how she was selected, what happened afterward, and how she was eventually commemorated.
Contents
- Cats in Space: Idea Origin
- Félicette's Flight on October 18, 1963
- What Happened to Félicette After Her Flight?
- Remembering Félicette, the First Cat in Space
- Félicette, the Space Cat: Conclusion
Cats in Space: Idea Origin
The idea of sending a cat into space came from the scientists at the French Center for Education and Research in Aviation Medicine (CERMA) in the early 1960s. They were curious about how a cat’s sensitive vestibular system, which helps it maintain its balance on Earth, would react in the weightlessness of space. Cats were also well suited to this kind of neurological research because their vestibular and nervous systems had already been studied extensively in laboratory experiments.
In 1963, CERMA selected 14 potential cat astronauts, some of whom were taken from the streets of Paris. All the cats were female due to their calmer demeanor. They underwent further selection and two months of special astronaut training to prepare for their flight.
Scientists decided to send a cat on a suborbital flight. The carrier rocket had to reach an altitude of 100 km (the “space boundary”), then rise higher, where the capsule with the cat inside would separate from the rocket, spend several minutes in weightlessness, and return to Earth. During the whole journey, a cat had to be secured in a special container in a lying position.
The whole flight would take about 10 minutes, but cats find it difficult to sit still for even that short a time. Therefore, they chose the calmest and most docile cats.
Researchers placed cats in containers for increasing periods, spun them in centrifuges to simulate the forces of launch and re-entry, and tested their calm and adaptability. They were also implanted with electrodes to monitor their brain activity.
One particular black-and-white cat stood out from the rest. At the time, she was known only as C341; to avoid emotional attachment to the test subjects, the scientists didn’t give the cats names, just numbers. Weighing 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs), C341 was chosen as the best because of her calm demeanor and appropriate weight.
Félicette's Flight on October 18, 1963
On October 18, 1963, Félicette made her historic journey as part of the French space program. A rocket, Véronique AGI, carried the cat in a capsule to an altitude of 157 kilometers, officially entering space.
Félicette’s mission was a suborbital flight, meaning the rocket briefly entered space and then returned to Earth along an arcing trajectory without completing a full orbit. The entire flight lasted around 10 minutes, during which Félicette experienced around 5 minutes of weightlessness. Unlike space tourists, she had no view of Earth from her capsule.
During the flight, the little cat experienced up to 9.5 g of force — more than twice what the Apollo astronauts experienced during their launch to the Moon! Félicette was surely quite distressed at launch, but she remained perfectly calm during the weightless period. Indeed, she was the right choice for the job — any panic reaction would have made the brain signals impossible to interpret.
During the landing, Félicette experienced “only” 7 g until her capsule’s parachutes opened; the parachutes’ opening produced a brief peak of about 9 g. About 10 minutes after launch, the capsule descended safely to Earth and landed upside down — a remarkable feat for a cat.
It took about 13 minutes for scientists to locate and retrieve Félicette after her landing. Amazingly, she emerged from her capsule unharmed, a testament to the success of her mission.
What Happened to Félicette After Her Flight?
After C341 returned safely to Earth, the flight data was released to the media. They nicknamed the cat Felix, after the cartoon series Félix the Cat, mistaking C341 for a male cat. CERMA changed it to the female version, Félicette, and adopted the name as official.
While Félicette's launch was a scientific success, her fate was unfortunate. Researchers conducted various studies on her for about two months after her return. However, the scientists had to perform a necropsy to gather the information they needed about the cat’s vestibular system and brain. To do this, they euthanized Félicette. Scientists later admitted that they had learned nothing useful from the autopsy.
On October 24, 1963, six days after Félicette’s successful flight, France attempted to send a second cat into space. The mission ended tragically: a malfunction involving the rocket’s explosive bolts caused it to launch at a dangerously steep angle, and the unnamed cat died in the hard landing that followed. Most other cats involved in the French space program were also euthanized after the program ended. Félicette remained the first and only cat to complete a successful spaceflight and return alive.
Remembering Félicette, the First Cat in Space
Despite her contributions to science, Félicette received far less recognition than the other animal astronauts. Ham the chimpanzee, for example, was honored with a burial at the International Space Hall of Fame, while Laika the dog had monuments built in her memory. Félicette’s story, by contrast, remained less widely known.
Why Was Félicette Overlooked?
One reason for Félicette's obscurity is that early space history often focused on the rivalry between the United States and the USSR, leaving France and its space program in the background.
Another reason may be the unsettling images of Félicette — photos of her with electrodes implanted in her skull didn't sit well with the newly growing animal rights movement.
Félicette on Postage Stamps
Félicette’s journey was celebrated on postage stamps, but some got her name wrong. For example, stamps from Comoros, Chad, and Niger called her “Félix” instead of Félicette, suggesting the first cat in space was male. They celebrated her achievement but failed to credit Félicette under her own name.
Félicette’s Memorial Statue
However, Félicette’s story took a turn in 2017 when enthusiast Matthew Serge Guy launched a Kickstarter campaign in her honor. More than 1,100 people donated, and the campaign raised $57,000 to honor Félicette's memory. The money was spent on a 1.5-meter (5 ft) bronze statue of Félicette, designed by sculptor Gill Parker.
The statue depicts Félicette perched on the Earth, looking up to the skies she once traveled through. It was unveiled on December 18, 2019, nearly six decades after her journey, on the campus of the International Space University in Strasbourg.
Félicette, the Space Cat: Conclusion
The next time you gaze at the night sky, remember Félicette, the brave cat who defied gravity and ventured into the unknown! She made history on October 18, 1963, as the first and only cat to successfully travel into space. But cats have found other places among the stars — through the names and shapes of constellations, stars, and nebulae. Explore our guide to space cats to discover more feline connections to astronomy.
