On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee by the name of Ham blasted off on a Mercury-Redstone rocket and became the first hominid to go to space. Ham reached an altitude of 157 miles during a 16 and a ...

HAM was launched 157 miles into space on Jan. 31, 1961. Selected from 40 candidates, he was trained at Holloman Airforce Base.

Jan. 31 marks the day Ham, a chimpanzee, was launched into sub-orbital space in a Mercury capsule aboard a Redstone rocket to become the first great ape in space.

Katy Perry’s Blue Origin flight was marketed as historic, but a chimp named Ham did far more for America’s space program back in 1961. Ham trained for years, endured extreme G forces, and performed ...

Before any human dared orbit the stars, a young chimpanzee named Ham took the leap. His journey from the jungles of Cameroon to a NASA launchpad involved confusion, bananas, and a brush with celebrity ...

In early 1961, Ham the chimpanzee underwent more than 200 hours of training — pressing levers in response to flashing lights for rewards, being tested under g-forces, and staged in mock capsules — all ...