A pivotal experience for Kraft was the flight of Mercury-Atlas 5, which sent a chimpanzee named Enos on the first American orbital spaceflight carrying a live passenger. Coverage of these early missions that carried non-human passengers could often be tongue-in-cheek; a Time magazine article on the flight, for example, was titled "Meditative Chimponaut".[18] Yet Kraft viewed them as important tests for the men and procedures of Mission Control, and as rehearsals for the crewed missions that would follow.[19] Originally, the flight of Mercury-Atlas 5 had been intended to last for three orbits.