I want to shake your hand

It would really send me into orbit

Today is the anniversary of the day that Enos, the only chimpanzee to orbit the earth, was launched aboard Mercury-Atlas 5 in 1961. It was the final rehearsal of the Mercury program before John Glenn’s orbital flight. Enos completed two orbits, then his capsule reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic. Enos was fine, and rode back to s…