[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]
NARRATOR: This chimpanzee
will pave the way into space.
His name is Ham.
He has a different training
regimen than human astronauts,
including shocks to his
feet if his attention strays
from the instrument panel.
But his job is paramount--
prove that a primate
can function in space.
MARGARET WEITEKAMP:
So this was how
you were able to-- what they
would have called at the time
man rate the vehicle.
MAN (ON RADIO): All
[INAUDIBLE] paralyzer, correct?
Mercury go.
[INAUDIBLE]
T-minus 18 and counting.
NARRATOR: Since the
embarrassment of Mercury 1--
[ROCKET ROARING]
--they think they
fixed the rocket.
MAN (ON RADIO) Minus 10, 9, 8--
NARRATOR: But will the
capsule keep Ham alive?
MAN (ON RADIO) --6.
0 [INAUDIBLE] seconds.
Liftoff, liftoff, liftoff.
NARRATOR: Mercury 2
punches through the Florida
sky with the hopes
of the program riding
on a three-year-old chimp.
MAN (ON RADIO) We
are ready to rock.
NARRATOR: The capsule
loses pressure,
but Ham's spacesuit
keeps him alive.
He pulls levers and
pushes buttons as trained.
They know he's
conscious, but don't
know if he'll endure reentry.
MAN (ON RADIO) We're
receiving data again.
Let us know when you
regain the signal.
[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]
NARRATOR: Ships
find Ham's capsule
in the wide open Atlantic.
They whisk it aboard
and open the hatch
to see if Ham survived.
TEASEL MUIR-HARMONY: He
was a little dehydrated.
He was a little fatigued.
But they gave him an
apple, and he liked that.
NARRATOR: He has nothing
more than a bruised nose.
Everyone hopes the first human
in space will be so lucky.
