It was on October 18, 1963 that Félicette, formerly a whore in Paris, became the first cat to go to Space on a mission launched by the French space program. The journey lasted 13 minutes.
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18/10/2026
by
News to Minutes
Fhi (exactly) 63 years ago that Félicette became the first cat to go and survive a trip to Space. This occurred on October 18, 1963 and lasted 13 minutes, recalls this Sunday the People.
Félicette was a small black and white-colored feline, “found on the street” in Paris, France, and was the first and only cat to travel and survive a trip to Space.
Despite having had a short stay outside the planet Earth – these 13 minutes – the magazine recalls that the journey “made it part of an important chapter of the early years of space exploration.”
Its mission took off from a base in the Sahara desert and the capsule it followed reached about 100 miles above the Earth. All this while his heart and breathing were monitored.
Félicette returned to the ground after his capsule separated from the French rocket – and with the help of a parachute.
Months after this adventure, it reminds People, investigators euthanized Félicette so they could study his brain.
63 years ago today, Félicette became the first cat to travel to space and safely return. On October 18, 1963, she took off on a French rocket from the Algerian Sahara. Her flight suffered about 13 minutes, and she recovered an altitude of over 150 kilometers. Here’s archive footage of her training, launch, and return to Earth.
— Furrend (@hifurrend) October 18, 2026
In 2019, the work of the feline was ‘recognized’ when a statue was erected in the city of Strasbourg, France.