Bio-Telemetry in the Nose Cones of U. S. Army Jupiter Missiles

On December 1, 1958, a South American squirrel monkey, and on May 28, 1959, a rhesus and a squirrel monkey, were launched in the nose cones of two U. S. Army Jupiter missiles. The experiments were done by scientists of the Army and Navy medical departments, and personnel of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. They were done on a noninterference basis with the main mission of the missile. The primary objective of the bio-flights was to demonstrate that animals can survive ballistic flights unharmed, if an adequate life support is provided. The secondary aim was to design, construct and test such a system, to develop countdown and launching procedures, and to recover the specimen after flight. Moreover, technical and scientific information on the physiologic and behavior status of the animal was to be gained through telemetry. Although the first animal was lost, valuable data were obtained on the functioning of the bio-package during flight. They served to improve the second experiment, which added substantially to the understanding of the biomedical requirements for space flight. Moreover, Able and Baker were the first primates recovered unharmed from an operational IRBM nose cone after re-entering the earth's atmosphere.