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PAVING THE WAY

© Joy Butler

Ham and Enos, two chimpanzees, accomplished what few humans ever have. Forty years ago, when space flight was in its infancy, chimps were used to test the safety of trips into the unknown. They were subjected to experimental technology and bumpy rides with extremes of complete weightlessness to high forces of gravity.

Ham, a 37 lb., 3 year old chimp, was brought from Africa and chosen by a veterinarian for his physical condition and intelligence. Named for Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Blackshear who cared for him, Ham was trained to operate controls by following colored blinking lights, and to withstand a weightless environment and high g-forces.

On January 31, 1961, with parts of his little body shaved to accommodate monitoring electrodes, Ham was outfitted in his diaper, rubber pants and space suit and strapped into his "space couch". The suborbital Mercury 2 flight launched from Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center) and for the next seventeen minutes control lights flashed 100 times. Ham performed his job well, with only two minor mistakes. One hundred and fifty five miles later, Mercury 2 splashed down in the Atlantic, 60 miles from the recovery ship. It took a search plane a half hour to locate Ham's sinking capsule that had been damaged on impact. Ocean water was filling the chamber but the chimp was safely rescued and flown to the recovery ship. As the capsule was opened, Ham, still strapped in his "space couch", flashed a big grin and reached for the apple offered him.

A post-flight exam showed him to be exhausted and slightly dehydrated but alert with normal reflexes and responses to sounds. The remainder of that historical day he was given his favorite foods of apples and oranges as he wanted and allowed to rest. Ham had paved the way for Alan Shepard to, 3 months later, make the first manned suborbital flight.

On November 19, 1961, after 1250 hours of training, another chimp named Enos, aboard the Mercury 5A, lifted off from Cape Canaveral into the first orbital flight. The first orbit took only 1 hour and 28.5 minutes, splashing down after the second orbit, just south of Bermuda. Enos was recovered by the USS Stormes and exhibited his joy by leaping and running around the deck shaking hands with everyone. He had proved it safe for John Glenn to make the first manned orbital flight aboard the Mercury 6. Sadly, Enos died shortly after his historical trip.