America's Animal Astronaut Heroes

This entertaining and enlightening documentary hosted by Billy Specht, former education director at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, heralds the contributions of various animals sent into space long before their human counterparts dared to make that venture. Fruit flies, aboard a German V-2 rocket captured by the U.S., were the first creatures to break free of the bonds of Earth, in 1947. A year later, a V-2 transported Albert, a rhesus monkey, who made history as the pioneer mammalian astronaut. Vintage footage here shows additional missions involving chimps, dogs, and, eventually, humans, while science lessons are interspersed throughout, covering topics such as radiation, gravity, atmospheric pressure, and rapid acceleration (which gives the fun animal stories greater context). Viewers also gain insight into the glacial flow of top-secret documents—even years later, photographic evidence of some projects has not been released—and the film also addresses the space race/Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. Specht's experience as an educator is evident as he adopts a lay-friendly approach to complex subjects, while interviews with colleagues help broaden the insights here. Although intended for kids, this is likely to have wider appeal. Especially given the relative lack of titles in this subject area and the very low library price, this is highly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, P. (C. Block)