Patricia and Mike, two Philippine monkeys, also made it through a 36-mile flight at 2000 mph on May 22, 1952.
They spent the remainder of their lives at the National Zoological Park in Washington, DC, where they were the first to reach such a high height.
Mike died in 1967, and Patricia died two years later from natural causes.
Cats and dogs in space
Before using man’s best friend for the task, the Soviets first tried mice, rats, and rabbits as one-way space travelers.
Nine dogs from the Soviet R-1 series made the journey between 1951 and 1952, with three of them making two flights.
Many other space-hounds were not as fortunate as Dezik and Tsygan, who were the first dogs to survive suborbital travel in 1951.
