Day 3: A Real American Hero

On an evening when the clowns who run our federal government came an hour and a half away from shutting down the government, I would like to talk about a real American hero. His name was Ham. When teaching about the space race in the 50's and 60's, my students are always fascinated by Ham the Chimp. Ham was the first American in space. Here is Ham...



Originally named Chop Chop Chang, the rechristened Ham beat out 39 other chimp candidates. Ham was trained to push buttons and flip levers in his capsule. When he flipped the wrong switch, he would get a little shock in his foot. When he flipped the correct one, a banana pellet would drop for Ham to enjoy. On January 31, 1961, Ham became the first American to break his earthly bonds and he was in space for approximately 15 minutes. There was a malfunction in the capsule, however, and among other things that went wrong, Ham recieved electric foot shocks even as he was flipping the correct levers and pushing the correct buttons. What the f*ck is this? (I am just speculating on what Ham was thinking). He returned to earth mildly agitated but unharmed. Almost ten months later Enos the chimp was the first American to orbit the earth.



I discuss rocketry, the Mercury and Apollo programs, U.S.-Soviet geopolitics surrounding the space race...but my students are always most interested in Ham. I think that Neil Armstrong is the only astronaut they ever learn about. I start our discussion out something like this: "Who was the first earthling in space?" "Neil Armstrong." "No, Laika the Russian dog." "Who was the first American in space?" "Neil Armstrong." "No, Ham the Chimp." "Who was the first human in space?" "Neil Armstrong." "No, Yuri Gargarin." "Who was the first free man (or American) in space?" "Neil Armstrong." "No, Alan Sheppard."

Oh, about Laika the dog...



The Soviets picked up Laika as a stray on the streets of Moscow. Her original name was Kudryavka ("Little Curly"), but was soon rechristened Laika (or "Muttnik" by the American press). Laika made her legendary voyage in 1957 aboard Sputnik II. Alas the Soviets, being coldhearted commie bastards, did not intend for Laika to return alive. At the time they announced to the world that Laika lived for several days before succumbing to overheating. But a report in 2002 revealed that she actually died within five hours of launch from fright and stress. My discussion of Laika's fate elicits more sadness and emotion from my students than discussions of the Holocaust, Vietnam or the Civil War.



So even though the Soviets were first, we at least brought Ham back alive.


ABOVE: Ham's gravesite at the International Space Hall of Fame.