Chimp Test Pilots | Aeromedical & Bioastronautics Research | USAF Documentary | 1967
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This 1967 film – originally titled as "Pioneers of the Vertical Frontier" – is a vintage documentary produced by the United States Air Force. The film depicts the mission and facilities of an aeromedical research laboratory at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. Scenes show the training and care of primates (chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys) and their vital use in aeromedical and bioastronautics (aviation and space medicine) research, and space capsule tests. The film stresses the laboratory's contribution to safety in future space travel. It includes footage of the launch of Mercury-Redstone 2 with the astrochimp Ham aboard, a test flight prior to America's first manned space mission.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND / CONTEXT
Before humans went into space, several other animals were launched into space, including numerous other primates, so that scientists could investigate the biological effects of space travel. The United States launched flights containing primate cargo primarily between 1948-1961 with one flight in 1969 and one in 1985. France launched two monkey-carrying flights in 1967. The Soviet Union and Russia launched monkeys between 1983 and 1996. Most primates were anesthetized before lift-off. Overall thirty-two monkeys flew in the space program; none flew more than once. Numerous back-up monkeys also went through the programs but never flew. Monkeys and apes from several species were used, including rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, squirrel monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, and chimpanzees.
About Ham:
Ham (1956 - 1983), also known as Ham the Chimp and Ham the Astrochimp, was a chimpanzee and the first hominid launched into space, on January 31, 1961, as part of America's space program. Ham's name is an acronym for the lab that prepared him for his historic mission — the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
There were originally 40 chimpanzee flight candidates at Holloman. After evaluation, the number of candidates was reduced to 18, then to 6, including Ham. Officially, Ham was known as No. 65 before his flight, and only renamed "Ham" upon his successful return to Earth. This was reportedly because officials did not want the bad press that would come from the death of a "named" chimpanzee if the mission were a failure.
Beginning in July 1959, the three-year-old chimpanzee was trained under the direction of neuroscientist Joseph V. Brady at Holloman Air Force Base Aero Medical Field Laboratory to do simple, timed tasks in response to electric lights and sounds. In his pre-flight training, Ham was taught to push a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light. He was also exposed to simulated g-forces and microgravity to prepare him for spaceflight, just like his human counterparts, the “Mercury Seven,” who had been training for nearly two years.
What differentiates Ham's mission from all the other primate flights to this point is that he was not merely a passenger, and the results from his test flight led directly to the mission Alan Shepard made on May 5, 1961 aboard Freedom 7.
On January 31, 1961, Ham was secured in a Project Mercury mission labeled MR-2 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a suborbital flight. Ham had his vital signs and tasks monitored using computers on Earth. The capsule suffered a partial loss of pressure during the flight, but Ham's space suit prevented him from suffering any harm. Ham's lever-pushing performance in space was only a fraction of a second slower than on Earth, demonstrating that tasks could be performed in space. Ham's capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was recovered by a rescue ship later that day. Despite these difficulties, Ham seemed calm and in good spirits upon his return. He shook hands with the commander of the recovery ship and others, and readily accepted an apple. A medical examination revealed Ham was slightly fatigued and dehydrated, but otherwise fine. His flight was 16 minutes and 39 seconds long.
Ham gained instant fame, and was featured in numerous articles, on magazine covers, and on television many times.
A second astrochimp, Enos, was launched into space in November 1961, this time entering Earth orbit. It was the precursor to John Glenn’s orbital flight in 1962.
For more information about Ham the Chimp, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_(ch...)
Chimp Test Pilots | Aeromedical & Bioastronautics Research | USAF Documentary | 1967
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