Scrapbook 1: Nov 1961 — Goliath, Enos

A monkey 6in. tall—named GOLIATH

By RONALD BEDFORD

A SIX inches tall, 24 ounce monkey DIED yesterday helping the Americans in their mission to put more men into Space.

The monkey was “Spaceman” Goliath, who seven months ago was living happily in the Amazon jungle of South America.

After four months’ Space training Goliath found himself yesterday in a Spaceship in the nose of a giant Atlas rocket.

Soon after blast-off from the launching pad at Cape Canaveral the rocket veered violently off course.

Scientists were near to tears as they had to make the emergency decision: “Destroy the Atlas—and Goliath.”

Protests

There was a danger that the Atlas would plunge out of control back to the Cape. So a radio signal was beamed to the rocket setting off an explosive charge.

When a man is in a Spaceship attached to an Atlas, a special escape mechanism is fitted to blow the ship clear in an emergency.

But there was no escape mechanism for Goliath. . . . He was burned to death.

And last night it was disclosed that before the emergency, Goliath, a golden squirrel monkey, had been sealed in his Spaceship without food or water for more than FIFTY-THREE hours.

The blast-off was delayed until yesterday.

Officials at Cape Canaveral said last night that plans to put a chimpanzee into orbit next week would GO ON as planned.

IN BRITAIN animal organisations protested at Goliath’s death.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “We shall protest to the American Government. It is wrong to expose living creatures to the hazards of Space travel.”

Mr. Wilfrid Tyldesley, secretary of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, said: “The use of animals for Space experiments is unnecessary and a disgrace.”

A monkey like Goliath.

This spectacular picture was taken as the Atlas, plunging towards Earth, was blown up. Seconds later the flames reached the nose of the rocket—and Goliath died.

‘NO NAME’ HAS A DATE—IN SPACE..

from JOHN EDWARDS

THE great aerial furnace that last Friday snuffed out the life of Little Goliath, the Space monkey, had hardly finished scorching the bushes at Cape Canaveral when another furry fellow was heading towards the rocket launching pad.

He is a healthy, grinning chimpanzee, four years old and welghing forty pounds.

His big moment was due at dawn on Tuesday—until it was decided, suddenly tonight, to delay the rocket test.

When he does take off his Space capsule will orbit the Earth two or three times.

If things go as planned, Space capsule and chimp are due to float down into the Atlantic and be fished out.

Bon Voyage to our furry friend.

NOTHING

It is a sad thing he has no Press agent. We don’t know anything about him. Not even his name.

All the human American Spacemen make their trips in a blaze of international publicity. Their personal and family lives are an open book.

But about “Mr. No Name”—nothing. He is being sent to test orbital flight before an American tackles it. He deserves a mention.

So—probably for the first time—“Mr. No Name” this is your (more recent) life:

YOU have been living for a year with four other chimps at the Hollowman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

TASKS

Your routine has been similar to that of the human astronauts. You have been going to school five days a week. You have been taught a seventy-minute programme of four major tasks that you will be expected to carry out in orbit.

The programme recycles so that at the end of one period—approximately one earth orbit—you will start all over again.

You have been working at a waist-high bench.

In front of you there was a shelf with three levers. You were taught how to hit the correct lever with your hand when one of your teachers flashed a particular coloured light.

You have also been taught to identify three symbols of the same pattern. Sometimes the teacher handed you two symbols—both different from the third. Then you had to ignore them.

These tests were designed to train you to perform the functions of a qualified Space chimp as you whizzed around the world.

If you got full marks for doing everything correctly, they gave you a tiny sip of water and a banana flavoured pill. When you did things wrong, you got a tiny electric shock in your left foot so that you wouldn’t do it again.

The psychologists in charge of the laboratory say there was not much shock treatment, because you were a good pupil.

In between morning and afternoon lessons you were allowed time to play with your friends.

And there was a nice meal waiting—with real bananas this time.

Then came the final tests—physical and reaction exams. You got top marks, which is why you will be making that Space trip one day soon.

INSIDE..

If everything else is OK, you will have been in the capsule for many hours already going through last-minute drill like a real Spaceman.

Soon, somebody will lean inside your capsule, give you a pat on the head and wish you luck.

AND that, “Mr. No Name,” is just about all we know about you. All, that is, until (with any luck) you come back safely and hold the Press conference Space agency officials are arranging for you.

It’s not much to know about the being who carries with him some of the hopes of our future in Space. But a great number of people will be thinking about him.

TENSION

I have sat in the tropical sun at Cape Canaveral watching man blast into Space. I know the sickening tension of the pre-launch moments.

It will be little different for “Mr. No Name.” Nobody wants anything to happen to him.

Nobody hopes anything will happen to him.

Nobody thinks anything will happen to him.

To be continued. . . .

From RALPH CHAMPION New York, Sunday

AMERICA’S chances of putting a man into orbit this year slumped to zero tonight.

For next Tuesday’s attempt to fire a chimpanzee three times round the Earth has been postponed indefinitely.

The reason, say experts at the Cape Canaveral launching pad in Florida, is a fault in the Space capsule.

America badly wanted to put a man into orbit by the end of the year so that the record books would show that both the US and Russia achieved the feat in 1961.

The fault means that the capsule will have to be removed from the top of its modified Atlas booster rocket.

And the removal, inspection and replacement will take at least a week.

Time

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration team are determined to go ahead with the “chimp shot” probably within the next ten days.

But, as it takes six weeks or more to prepare for a manned shot, leading technicians at Cape Canaveral say there is not enough time left this year.

Even if the chimpanzee is recovered alive, it will take several weeks to study the data from this experiment before a human life can be risked.

Divers

This blow to America’s Space programme follows today’s recovery of the body of Goliath—the squirrel monkey who died in Friday’s missile shot.

Divers found Goliath in the smashed nose cone of an Atlas rocket in the Atlantic off Cape Canaveral.

The rocket had to be destroyed thirty seconds after launching.

BLAST-OFF

AMERICA hopes to blast off a chimpanzee into Space on Wednesday, and bring him back alive after three orbits round the globe.

ALL SET FOR THE MOON

RUSSIA is planning to send a man round the moon and back in the New Year, said a report from Moscow yesterday.

The man has already been chosen and his space ship built. It is now on its launching ground ready to be rocketed off on the five-day flight.

AMERICA yesterday had two setbacks in the moon race. Two rockets were blasted off successfully, but failed to complete their scheduled flights.

SPACE RIDDLE

AMERICAN scientists were last night investigating reports that Russia launched a three-man spaceship three weeks ago—and lost it. They think the spaceship may have left its 300-mile-high orbit round the earth and shot into outer space.