Scott Carpenter was the fourth American astronaut to travel into Space. I met him at Autographica in London in October 2007. He signed a photograph for me and then I had my photo taken with him.
Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born in Boulder, Colorado in 1925, the son of a research chemist. Scott attended the University of Colorado from 1945 to 1949, and graduated with a BSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Carpenter left NASA in 1965 to become part of the US Navy's SEALAB II project on the ocean floor. As an aquanaut, he spent 30 days living and working on the o
Three months later on May 24th, Carpenter piloted his Mercury 7 (callsign Aurora 7) spacecraft through three orbits of the earth, at an altitude of 164 miles. During this time he carried out a number of experiments. After nearly fiv
The Mercury project was America's first human spaceflight programme, with the aim of putting a man into orbit around the Earth. Mercury 6 (callsign Friendship 7) piloted by John Glenn achieved this goal in February 1962.
When the war was over, Carpenter trained to be a test pilot, and went on to put many experimental aircraft through their paces. He was so accomplished that he was chosen to be one of NASA's "Original Seven" Mercury astronauts (all former military test pilots) in 1959. The other six were Virgil Grissom, John Glenn, Ala
Scott Carpenter has written two novels - The Steel Albatross and its sequel Deep Flight, each based on the US Navy SEALs.
Scott Carpenter was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990. He died in Denver, Colorado, on 10th October 2013.
It is interesting that the names of five of the Mercury 7 are commemorated in the popular 1960s TV show Thunderbirds. In the series, Jeff Tracey named his five sons Scott, Virgil, John, Alan, and Gordon after the real-life astronauts.
In 2003, Carpenter published his autobiography For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut. His daughter, Kris Stoever assisted with writing the book.
He joined the US Navy, and became a naval aviator in 1951 and served during the Korean War. When the war was over, Carpenter trained to be a test pilot, and went on to put many experimental aircraft through their paces.
Scott Carpenter signing my photo
Back Row: Alan Shepard, Wally Schirra, John Glenn
Front Row: Virgil Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper
THE MERCURY SEVEN
five hours of flight, the craft splashed down
Painting of Scott Carpenter by
Ray Kinstler
ocean floor. In 1967, he became director of a
Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra and Donald 'Deke' Slayton.
There is a monument at The Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral (launch Pad 14) honouring Project Mercury. The Arabic number 7 represents the seven original astronauts. The other figure is the astronomical symbol of the Planet Mercury.
front the Mercury Control Centre at
aquanaut operations during the SEALAB III experiments.
Carpenter's Mercury 7 lifts off from Pad 14
at Cape Canaveral 24 May 1962
Mercury 7 after splashdown
Scott Carpenter on board
USS Intrepid after splashdown
Scott signed this photograph for me. He added
The Aurora 7 symbol underneath his name
The Project Mercury memorial at Pad 14
Scott Carpenter in full pressure suit in
Cape Canaveral
Scott Carpenter
Scott Tracey from
Scott Carpenter with his daughter Kris
Thunderbirds
Scott Carpenter in 1960
Scott Carpenter in 1962
The Steel Albatross
in the Atlantic. A problem forced Carpenter to overshoot his landing target by 250 miles, and caused a long delay before the craft was recovered.
Scott Carpenter (1925 - 2013)
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(above) Scott Carpenter has signed this photo to me
(left) I met Scott again at Autographica held in Birmingham in September 2009