![]() I should make it clear that my book is not a diluted, sugar-coated version of Felicette’s story. It also includes Felicette-inspired poetry, written by myself, such as “ I Like To Think“. It looks at the ways Felicette has been honoured since her 1963 mission – a bronze statue of her was recently unveiled in Germany – and looks ahead to how she might be honoured in the far future, by the men and women who travel to make their homes on the planets orbiting other stars. It describes the rocket and capsule she flew in, and the legacy of her brief flight. My book tells Felicette’s story – where she came from, how she was selected, how she trained, and what happened during – and after – her flight. It is ironic – and very unfair – that while Laika is famous around the world, less well-known is the story of Felicette, the first cat to fly into space, six years after Laika. It would be the first full-length book written about her. My book book tells the story of another “animal astronaut” hardly anyone has heard of: Felicette, the first cat to journey into space. A space capsule carrying two dogs and the first rabbit in space – “Marfusha” or “Little Martha” – blasted off, returning to Earth several days later. In July 1959, two years after Laika’s flight and ten whole years before Neil Armstrong took his “One small step”, a veritable “Ark in space” was launched by the Russians. Three months earlier, the Russian Zond 5 capsule rounded Earth’s satellite, carrying strange passengers: the first living beings to see Earth-rise from the Moon were not square-jawed Apollo astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, but a pair of rather bewildered tortoises – and to this day no-one knows their names… During the recent 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic landing on the Moon, many of the TV documentaries and films released to celebrate it told the story of how the brave crew of Apollo 8 were the first human beings to reach and orbit the Moon none of them told their viewers that those astronauts were not the first of Earth’s children to reach and orbit the Moon. Many others have flown into space over the years. Some know how, in the same year, a grinning American chimpanzee called Ham gazed down on Earth’s blue oceans and snow-white clouds from above, months before human astronauts Alan Shepherd and John Glenn enjoyed the same magical view.īut these are just the most famous “animal astronauts”. Animals, not people, were the first to reach, and break through, that final frontier.Įveryone interested in space knows the story of gentle Laika, the first dog to travel into – and tragically die in – orbit (but not the first dog to go into space) in 1957, sacrificed to make Yuri Gagarin’s history-making flight possible four years later in 1961. Years before humans dared to leave Earth, others were sent into the unknown in their place. The story behind “FELICETTE – The Space Cat” Basically I’m on a mission to make Felicette as well known as Laika and the other more famous “animal astronauts” people know about. I have written a biographical book about Felicette, which hasn’t been taken by a publisher yet but I’ll keep trying! I think Felicette is one of the forgotten heroines of the Space Age, and I’ve also written a Middle Grade novel featuring both Felicette and Laika. The July issue of the popular UK magazine “All About Space” contained a 4-page feature written by me about Felicette (shown here being totally ignored by my own cat, Jess.!)… So, for the past few years I have been talking about her to lots of people and writing about her on social media and in magazines. ![]() I was quite surprised and embarrassed that I hadn’t known much about her previously, and I decided to try to make her story known to more people. When I was writing and researching “A Cat’s Guide to The Night Sky” I learned about Felicette – the first (and so far only) cat to go into space. ![]() This coming October will see the 59th anniversary of a space mission not many people even know about – the flight of the first, and so far only, cat to go into space. Last year actor William Shatner, famous for playing Captain Kirk in Star Trek, flew into space onboard a Blue Origin capsule, making headlines all around the world. ![]()
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