Félicette was one of many animals who were involuntary participants in the early stages of space exploration. The black-and-white cat was rocketed into space on October 18, 1963, by the French space ...

Félicette, a former stray who was sent into space by French researchers in 1963, now has a bronze statue in her honor at France's International Space University. Public Domain Félicette, the only cat ...

A bronze statue of Félicette, the first cat in space, will perch on top of the Earth and gaze at the stars. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how ...

The first cat to launch into space and live to meow about it is getting her own monument — thanks to the crowdfunded support of more than 1,100 of her fans. A campaign on the website Kickstarter on ...

While the Soviets sent man's best friend into space, the French had other plans. Meet Félicette, the feline astronaut history forgot. You don’t have to be a pet parent to know that dogs and cats are ...

On Oct. 18, 1963, a cat went to space! Félicette was a French "catstronaut" who became the first and only feline to fly to space. While the U.S. and Soviet Union were busy launching primates, dogs and ...

It's a classic zero to hero tale: A stray cat is plucked from the streets of Paris and trained to be an astronaut. This may sound like the plot of a children's book, but the story of Félicette—the ...

It was the year 1963 and the space race was in full swing. After significantly lagging behind its Soviet and American rivals, France was eager to prove itself as a space peer to the world’s then-two ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Unlike her canine and simian counterparts, the world's only feline ...

More than half a century ago, a Parisian street cat was launched into space by the French space program. She returned alive, was euthanized and studied by scientists who were interested in the effects ...

In 1963, France launched Félicette, the first cat into space aboard a Véronique AGI 47 rocket. Her 13-minute suborbital flight provided valuable data on weightlessness and neurological activity.