A cock was lifted on air in an experiment in Sikkim in 1935

" The first animals intentionally sent into space were fruit flies, accompanied by corn seeds aboard a U.S.-launched V2 rocket in 1947.The experiment aimed to explore the effects of radiation exposure at high altitudes. Some further V2 missions carried biological samples, including moss.

Albert II, a Rhesus Monkey, became the first monkey in space on June 14, 1949, in a U.S.-launched V2, (after the failure of the original Albert's mission). Albert II died on impact after a parachute failure. Numerous monkeys of several species were flown by the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. Monkeys were implanted with sensors to measure vital signs, and many were under anesthesia during launch."

But it was September 28, 1935, a rocketmail experiment was conducted in Gangtok in which a cock was lifted in the rocket. A cock with 155 Sikkim Rocketgrams was also launched along with it. The experiment was conducted by Stephen Smith, father of Indian Rocketmail, with the permission of the then Chogyal (King) Tashi Namgyal. A series of Rocketmail experiments was launched in 1935, which we will go through in detail in a few days.

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Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

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