Monkeys were first US animals to survive spaceflight

Two monkeys, Able and Baker, were the first US animals to successfully survive spaceflight after being sent into space 480 km above Earth on May 28, 1959. They travelled at speeds reaching 16,000 kmph on the 16-minute spaceflight. Notably, in 1951, another monkey had returned alive from a spaceflight but it died before being recovered from the capsule.