Several years before Sputnik and the on-set of the space race, scientists were already dabbling with the effects of weightlessness and what happens to the human body if was exposed to zero-g environments for extended period of time. On May 22, 1952, Patricia and Mike, two Philipine monkeys were strapped into the nose section of an Aerobee rocket and launched from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Patricia was in a seated position and Mike was put in a prone position, so scientists could see if there were any differences in effects of rapid acceleration.
They reached an altitude of 36 miles (the highest any primate had reached before. Scientists had been sending monkeys into suborbital space since 1948) and speeds of 2000 mph. Patricia and Mike were recovered successfully after they parachuted back to Earth from the upper atmosphere.
https://history.nasa.gov/animals.html
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