Gordo posing in space suit with his helmet off looking to the side with an American flag in the background.

Gordo: Old Reliable

Gordo was one of the first monkeys to make it into space as part of NASA's space program. Eight monkeys had flown on NASA missions before him, five of whom went by the name of Albert.

Gordo's historic flight took place on December 13, 1958 when he took off from Cape Canaveral for a 15 minute flight into space. Even though he was weightless for over 8 minutes the on-board instruments indicated that Gordo enjoyed his journey into space. Scientists monitoring the flight were pleased to note that the only slight side effect Gordo suffered from the entry into space was a modest slowing of his pulse.

The Mission

The rocket carrying Gordo into space would take off from the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral, travel further than any monkey had ever travelled before - over 1,500 miles - and reach a height of 310 miles (500 km) before returning to Earth and landing in the South Atlantic, 1,302 nautical miles south of Cape Canaveral.

"We all heard the rumors that they want to send a monkey up first. Well, none of us wants to think that they're gonna send a monkey up to do a man's work ... what they're trying to do to us is send a man up to do a monkey's work." Deke Slayton, Mercury Seven Astronaut

The Jupiter AM-13

The Jupiter IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) was originally developed by the US Army as a long-range successor to its PGM-11 Redstone missile, but was eventually taken over and deployed by the USAF for political reasons. It was also the only one of the United States' early stategic ballistic missiles with some mobility.

  1. Flight Date: December 13, 1958
  2. Launch Time: 03.53 EST
Range Ballistic Missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered.
Different species that were sent to space.
horizontal heading
Name Species Time in Space Success? Life lost?
Fredrick squirrel 45 min fail died
Gilley ferret 24 hrs. success lived
Alfredo rat 3 hrs. success died

The Journey

Gordo wore a specially customised space suit custom made for a monkey about one foot tall. The space suit was fitted with instruments, including temperature meters and microphones which recorded his historic suborbital journey, considered one of the outstanding achievements of space research. Flight Time: 15 Minutes Apogee: 310 Miles