All corrections
Wikipedia September 9, 2026 at 09:44 PM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting_animals

2 corrections found

1
Claim
The rhesus macaque Albert I was launched in a V-2 Rocket on 18 June 1948.
Correction

Albert I's flight date is wrong. NASA's official history says Albert I launched on June 11, 1948, not June 18, 1948.

Full reasoning

NASA's official history of animals in space dates Albert I's launch to June 11, 1948: "On June 11, 1948, a V-2 Blossom launched into space from White Sands, New Mexico carrying Albert I, a rhesus monkey." That directly contradicts the article's date of 18 June 1948.

This is a straightforward date error about the first U.S. primate rocket launch.

1 source
2
Claim
In 1788, Blanchard made a demonstration for Frederick the Great, placing a bird and a cat in a basket that was attached to the parachute.
Correction

This is impossible as written: Frederick the Great's reign ended in 1786, so a demonstration in 1788 could not have been performed for him.

Full reasoning

The date-person combination here does not work. A University of Oxford historical page on Frederick II states that Frederick the Great "was King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786." A separate historical page from WDR dates Blanchard's Berlin balloon ascent to 27 September 1788.

Because Frederick the Great was no longer alive or reigning in 1788, Blanchard could not have made a 1788 demonstration for Frederick the Great. This appears to be a mistaken attribution of patron/audience for the 1788 event.

2 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0