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Miss Baker grave marker.

Grave of Miss Baker, Space Monkey

Field review by the editors.

Huntsville, Alabama

For many years one of the star attractions at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center was "Miss Baker," an infamously ill-tempered squirrel monkey who in 1959 had been stuck in a rocket nose cone and blasted 360 miles to the edge of space. Her companion astro-monkey, Miss Able, died shortly thereafter (a sign at her birthplace tells her story), but Miss Baker lived a long and pampered life. She appeared on the cover of Life magazine and flew first class with a personal doctor to make TV appearances.

Miss Baker.

Her "monkeynaut" space capsule is displayed inside the Rocket Center, and her 1984 tombstone stands just outside its main entrance, sheltered in a grove of trees next to the parking lot. The inscription on her granite pillar immortalizes Miss Baker as the "First U.S. Animal to Fly in Space and Return Alive."

Grave of Miss Baker, Space Monkey

U.S. Space and Rocket Center

Address:
One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL
Directions:
U.S. Space and Rocket Center. I-65 exit 340, then 15 miles east to I-565 exit 15. On the south side of the freeway; you'll see the big rocket out front. The headstone is in a little clump of trees next to the museum entrance.
Phone:
256-837-3400
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