In 1959, Rhesus monkey Abel and squirrel monkey Baker, both female, were launched for a brief suborbital space flight in the nose cone of Jupiter Missile AM-18. They reached 300 miles altitude, and travelled 1500 miles at speeds over 10,000 mph. Heart rate and sounds, body temperature, blood pressure and radiation were monitored, plus muscle performance by electromyogram. Abel was trained to tap a switch when a red light flashed, to collect data on performance. After the mission, their successful recovery was the first for living beings. The monkeys survived the flight. Afterwards Able died during anesthesia as doctors were about to remove an electrode from under her skin. Baker died of kidney failure in 1984 at age 27.
