Timeline Tuesday 31 January 1961

Events on Tuesday 31 January 1961 1

• 1961 Ham the chimpanzee spaceflight First hominid launched into space NASA launched the chimpanzee Ham aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket on a suborbital flight to test the capsule and life-support systems before human missions. Ham operated levers during flight and survived splashdown, paving the way for Alan Shepard's flight months later.