Baxter, Goldie, Luna, Cooper, and Apollo patiently waited as astronaut Smith decided which dog would go to space.

"I have made my decision," astronaut Smith said.

"Apollo, you are going to space, little fella!" 

Apollo was so happy; he was doing back-flips!

"Yay!" Apollo's owner, Mikey, shouted. "You're going to space, buddy!"

Apollo just barked, like he always did whenever he would get treats or go outside and play catch with Mikey. It was an excited bark, a happy bark because Apollo was delighted.

    Two weeks later...

"It's the big day!" Mikey exclaimed.

Apollo just barked.

Apollo got extremely nervous at the launch site.  Seeing the rocket, and of course,  seeing hundreds of people waiting to see the second dog go into space. The Russian dog, Lakia, was the first, and she was Apollo's role model. 

"Liftoff in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" The announcer said.

Apollo's body shook; it was probably just the 300-foot metal tube lifting Apollo into space.