The Explorers' Club, № DCCCLVI

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Mercury-Atlas 5
29 November 1961: Mercury 5 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying Enos the Astrochimp (died 1962, A.K.A. № 81) aboard an unnamed Mercury capsule atop an Atlas D rocket; the capsule completed two of three planned orbits, experiencing minor malfunctions a human could have addressed; Enos splashed down in the Atlantic & was recovered by the U.S.S. Stormes.

Commentary: Enos died less than a year after Mercury-Atlas 5, but due to dysentery that could not be attributed to his pioneering spaceflight. The Atlas rocket was now qualified for manned launches, paving the way for John Glenn's spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 6, in February 1962.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Mercury-Atlas 5
MU330, "Rocket Fuel" from MU330 (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.