| LAIKA | Dog who in 1957 became the first animal launched into orbit |
| THIRDOFNOVEMBER | When Laika the dog became the first animal in space, 1957 |
| BARTY | Actor who, in 1957, founded the advocacy group Little People of America, Billy ___ (b.1924 - d.2000) |
| STEP | Animals launched in one stage of flight (4) |
| SATELLITES | Sputnik 1 launched into orbit by Russia in 1957 was the first of many such space craft |
| ENOS | Chimpanzee that was the first to be launched into orbit, in 1961 |
| TELSTAR | Phone celebrity launched into orbit in the early 1960s |
| HUBBLETELESCOPE | Optical instrument launched into orbit round earth in 1990 (6,9) |
| HUBBLE | _ Space Telescope; launched into orbit in 1990 (6) |
| AARDVARK | In the ark, Dr Ava treated the first animal listed in a dictionary (8) |
| RAT | Traditionally, the first animal in the Chinese zodiac |
| DOG | What was the first animal to orbit the Earth? (3) |
| SKYLAB | The first U.S. space station, launched into Earth orbit on May 14, 1973. In July 1979 it entered the atmosphere, broke up, and scattered debris over the southeastern Indian Ocean and western Australia |
| AARDVARKS | The first animals to be included in the dictionary? |
| CATTLE | But the first animal isn't one of this herd (6) |
| TROTTER | Answer back when holding the first animal's foot (7) |
| SPONGE | Aquatic creature without a brain or nervous system, most likely the first animal on Earth according to studies (6) |
| INTHEDARK | Unaware of where the first animals were, about 500 (2,3,4) |
| OCEAN | Home to the first animals on Earth |
| TRAPSHOOTING | The sport of firing at clay pigeons launched into the air by machine (12) |
