The first living creatures entered space on the 20th of February 1947 when fruit flies flew inside a V-2 rocket from White Sands Missile Range. These insects survived the journey and were recovered alive after reaching an altitude of 68 kilometers.
Albert II became the first mammal in space on the 14th of June 1949 aboard a U.S.-launched V-2 rocket. He reached about 134 kilometers before his parachute failed and he died instantly upon impact.
Tsygan and Dezik were the first living higher organisms successfully recovered from sub-orbital spaceflight on the 22nd of July 1951. Both dogs survived this flight despite the risks involved during their launch by the Soviet Union.
Able and Baker became the first monkeys to survive spaceflight on the 28th of May 1959 aboard a Jupiter IRBM AM-18 rocket. Able died four days after the flight due to anesthesia complications while Baker lived until the 29th of November 1984 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama.
France launched Félicette the cat into space on the 18th of October 1963 aboard Veronique AGI sounding rocket No. 47. She had electrodes implanted into her brain to record neural impulses before being euthanized for an autopsy two months later.