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[i]Fifty years ago, there was a space race -- a race the United States was losing to the communists. Enter a hero, named Ham. The chimp would become the first hominid launched into outer space. And Ham wasn't just a passenger. He was taught to push a button once the light for re-entry came on. His mission set the stage for the one Alan Shepard would make May 5, 1961, aboard Freedom 7. Monday is the 50th anniversary of when Ham the "astrochimp" launched into suborbital space inside a Mercury capsule.[/i]
[i]Fifty years ago [today] an African-born astronaut made it into space ahead of Soviet pioneer Yuri Gagarin. His name was Ham, a chimpanzee born in July 1957 in the rainforests of what was then the French Cameroons. He was bought by the US Air Force to be used in early space flight experiments for $457 -- not a bad investment as it turned out.[/i]
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