USS Kiowa (AT-72) and squirrel monkey Miss Baker, which were the first living creatures the United States launched into space and returned alive to earth. From 1959 until early 1965, "Kiowa" continued towing operations out of Norfolk, and also performed extensive services at Guantanamo Bay. During the latter part of June and all of July 1965, "Kiowa" operated as a unit of a task force patrolling the West Indies during the second Dominican Republic Crisis, her primary task being to maintain the off-shore pump for petroleum products to besieged Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. En route to the United States East Coast
Animals in space the flight in good condition. Able died four days after the flight from a reaction to anesthesia, while undergoing surgery to remove an infected medical electrode. Baker was the center of media attention for the next several months as she was watched closely for any ill-effects from her space flight. She was even mated in an attempt to test her reproductive system. Baker lived until 29 November 1984, at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. On 2 July 1959, a launch of a Soviet R2 rocket, which reached , carried two space dogs and Marfusa, the first