TonyM
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That poor monkey
I think we're talking about Ham the chimp (named after Holloman Air Force Base). His name was also in honor of the commander of Holloman Aeromedical Laboratory, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton "Ham" Blackshear. Like the Russian dogs sent into space he was just along for the ride and was 'trained' so that the stresses he would experience would not be distressing. Although didn't fly the spacecraft he did perform tasks that set up Alan Shepard's flight.
After his flight he lived on until 1983 (born in 1957 and flew in 1961). I do not believe in animal testing and his training involved a punishment / reward regime, electric shocks to his feet if he got a task wrong or rewarded with a banana pellet if correct.