In 1948, a male rhesus monkey named Albert was launched on a V-2 rocket by the US towards space but the mission failed and the animal did not survive the flight

In 1948, a male rhesus monkey named Albert was launched on a V-2 rocket by the US towards space as part of an early effort to study the effects of rocket flight on living organisms. The launch took place at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico before NASA was created. Albert I was placed inside the crew capsule of a V-2 rocket and was anesthetized before launch. The rocket reached about 39 miles, but it did not cross the accepted boundary of space. The mission also failed to provide useful biological data because the monitoring system did not record signs of life.

Why was Albert I sent on a rocket?

In 1948, a male rhesus monkey named Albert was launched on a V-2 rocket by the US towards space during a period when the United States was testing rockets and studying their possible use for scientific research.


The United States had started the Hermes program in 1944. One of its aims was to test missiles and work with technology based on the German V-2 rocket. White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico became a location for these tests. Before Albert I's flight, 37 V-2 rockets had already been launched under the program.

Eight of those rockets carried biological material. These payloads included seeds and fruit flies. Albert I was the first mammal the United States placed on a rocket. If the flight had succeeded in reaching space, he would also have become the first mammal in space.

Albert I mission details

Albert I was a male rhesus macaque weighing about nine pounds. He was anesthetized and placed inside the crew capsule in the nose of the V-2 rocket. The vehicle was identified as missile number 37. It was also described as a V-2 Blossom test missile, or Blossom No. 3.

The launch took place on June 11, 1948, at 03:22 from White Sands Proving Ground near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The planned flight was intended to provide information about how a living mammal responded during a rocket flight.

However, the systems designed to record Albert's respiratory functions failed before the launch. There were also indications that Albert may have died because of the conditions inside the capsule before the rocket left the ground.

How high did the rocket travel?

The rocket reached about 39 miles, or 63 kilometres, above Earth. This altitude was below the Kármán line, which is commonly used as the boundary of space at about 100 kilometres, or 62 miles. The flight therefore did not reach outer space.

The rocket's turbine also burned out earlier than planned at 57.5 seconds. This caused the vehicle to fall short of its intended altitude. Investigators later concluded that an electrical fault was likely responsible. The fault caused the alcohol fuel supply to shut down early. The parachute also failed to deploy. This meant that even if Albert had survived the conditions inside the capsule, he would have died when the capsule hit the ground.

What happened to Albert?

Albert I did not survive the mission. The exact timing of his death could not be established with certainty because the equipment that was supposed to monitor his respiratory activity had failed before launch. The flight recorder was recovered after the flight. It showed no physiological activity.

This left two possible explanations. Albert may have died before the launch, possibly because of the cramped capsule conditions, or the biological monitoring system may have failed completely. Because there was no reliable physiological data, scientists could not use the flight to determine how a mammal responded to the conditions of the rocket journey. The mission was therefore considered a failure from a scientific data perspective.

What did the Albert I launch show?

The Albert I mission showed the problems involved in using rockets for biological experiments.

Several parts of the mission failed at different stages.

The main points were:

• Albert I was a nine-pound rhesus macaque.
• He was anesthetized before being placed inside the rocket.
• The launch occurred on June 11, 1948.
• The launch time was 03:22.
• The launch site was White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico.
• The vehicle was V-2 missile number 37, also called Blossom No. 3.
• The rocket reached about 39 miles, or 63 kilometres.
• The flight did not cross the Kármán line.
• Respiratory monitoring equipment failed before launch.
• The flight recorder showed no physiological activity.
• The rocket turbine burned out at 57.5 seconds.
• An electrical fault was identified as the likely reason for the early fuel shutdown.
• The parachute failed to deploy.
• Albert did not survive.
• The mission did not produce useful information about biological life in space.

How did Albert I lead to Albert II?

The results of the Albert I flight were used when preparing for another rhesus monkey mission. On June 14, 1949, Albert II was launched on another suborbital rocket flight. Albert II's mission reached space, unlike the Albert I flight. The recorder also showed that Albert II survived the flight until the point when the parachute failed.

However, Albert II also died because the parachute did not deploy correctly. The two missions became part of the early history of biological experiments using rockets. They also showed that reaching the required altitude was only one part of the problem. Researchers also needed equipment that could record biological activity and systems that could safely return the animal to Earth.

Why is Albert I important in spaceflight history?

Albert I's flight took place before NASA was established. It was part of the early United States rocket testing program and came at a time when scientists were beginning to examine whether living organisms could withstand rocket launches and conditions associated with high-altitude flight.

The mission did not reach space and did not provide the expected biological information. However, it became part of the series of animal experiments that preceded later human spaceflight.

The flight also demonstrated the risks of early rocket experiments. Problems with the rocket, monitoring equipment and recovery system affected the outcome. Albert I therefore occupies a place in the history of early U.S. animal rocket experiments, even though the mission did not achieve its intended scientific purpose.