I am an unapologetic and enthusiastic supporter of the space program, so space anniversaries naturally appeal to me. This Week in Science History, two important space anniversaries occurred on January 31.  I’ll discuss each one separately. 

On January 31, 1958, the United States officially entered the space race with the launching of the satellite Explorer 1. This was, of course, many months after the launch of Sputnik (on October 4, 1957; see my previous blog post for more on this event). But January 31 was a crucial milestone in the American space program.  Explorer 1 was launched that day on a Juno 1 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 2248 EST. Less than three hours later, it was confirmed the approximately 14 kg satellite was in orbit.  The small satellite had limited space for scientific instruments but did carry some — including temperature sensors and acoustic detectors. Designed to be “operational” for 31 days, Explorer 1 actually lasted until May 23, 1958 when its batteries died. Explorer 1 would then stay in orbit until 1970, making over 58,000 orbits. 

On January 31, 1961, the first primate was launched into space. Born in Cameroon and captured by animal trappers before being purchased by the Air Force, Number 65, as he was called during the mission was later nicknamed  HAM (Holloman Aerospace Medical Center) after his until his return to earth. HAM was trained to perform simple tasks and was intended to be a precursor to the beginning of manned space flight. He was launched into a suborbital flight as part of the Mercury program aboard a Redstone rocket. 

HAM’s mission was a success, despite a few glitches. His capsule experienced a partial loss of pressure, but his space suit protected him from harm. HAM performed several lever pushing efforts for which he had been trained and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after a 16 minute 39 second flight. His successful return demonstrated the possibility of putting a human into orbit (the U.S. would accomplish this with Alan Shepard’s flight 10 months later) and provided valuable insight. After the flight, HAM resided in both the National Zoo (in Washington D.C.) and the North Carolina Zoo until his death at age 26 on January 19, 1983.  HAM’s skeleton is displayed at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology’s National Museum of Health and Medicine.  There is a grave marker (and Youtube video as well) for him at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. 

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