"ASTRONAUT WAITS 3 HOURS FOR NAVY RESCUE"

CARPENTER ORBITS EARTH 3 TIMES BUT FUEL ISSUE LEADS TO 250 MILE OFF-COURSE SPLASHDOWN 

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) On May 24, 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter* became the second American to orbit the earth.  His three orbit flight, aboard the Aurora** 7, ended in a three hour wait for rescue after splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.

Amy Shira Teitel explains how a low fuel issue plagued the flight.  After the first orbit, the low fuel light came on the console.  Carpenter covered the light up with a piece of tape.

By the time of re-entry, the spacecraft was out of fuel but splashed down safely in the ocean.  Rather than wait in the "hot capsule," Scott Carpenter exited into an inflatable raft.  His landing was off course by 250 miles which explains the long wait for rescue.

The flight of Aurora 7 lasted 4 hours & 56 minutes.  Although successful, Carpenter was held accountable for not complying with repeated reminders to conserve fuel and never flew another space mission.  He retired from NASA in 1967.

*Malcolm Scott Carpenter (1925-2013) was born in Boulder, Colorado & graduated from the University of Colorado.  MSC was commissioned in the US Navy in 1949 & chosen as one of the "Mercury 7" astronauts in 1959.  He was John Glenn's back-up for the 1st U.S. orbital flight.

**Aurora means 'open sky & the dawn' symbolizing the 'dawn of a new age.'  SC chose the name for the spacecraft but did not take into account at the time that Aurora Street was where he grew up in Boulder.  

SOURCE

"Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter and the Controversy Surrounding Aurora 7," by Amy Shira Teitel, October 14, 2013, Popular Science, www.popsci.com/ 

   

 

Scott Carpenter Boards Aurora 7

24 May 1962

NASA Photo

 

 

Scott Carpenter & Family Visit JFK 

Oval Office

5 June 1962

Photo by Robert Knudsen

JFK Library 

 

 

NASA'S BEST PREPARED ASTRONAUT

SCOTT CARPENTER'S CONTROVERSIAL SPACE FLIGHT

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) On May 24, 1962, Scott Carpenter* splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after three successful orbits and in doing so became the second American to orbit the earth.  

During the five hour flight, Carpenter also was the first astronaut to eat solid food in space.  He was given a multitude of experiments to conduct as well as a "continual transfer of biomedical data."

Although described as NASA's "best prepared astronaut," at the end of the flight Carpenter splashed down 250 miles away from his scheduled landing point.  

The astronaut then had to wait 3 hours for Navy personnel to get in a position to retrieve him.  He was found bobbing up and down in his life raft beside his space capsule.  Flight Director Chris Kraft** blamed Carpenter for the mission's problems and, according to Amy Shira Teitel, was "determined he would never fly again."

Scott Carpenter's May 24 1962 space flight was to be his first and last.

*Malcolm Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was born in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado in 1962.  MSC became a navy pilot & served in the Korean War.  MSC died on Oct 10, 2013, 50 years to the day after JFK presented the Collier Trophy to the Mercury 7 at the White House.

**Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. was born in 1924 in Hampton, Virginia & graduated from Virginia Tech University in 1944.  CCK became NASA's 1st flight director & served in that capacity during all 6 manned Mercury flights.

SOURCES

"Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter and the Controversy Surrounding Aurora 7", by Amy Shira Teitel, October 13, 2013, www.popsci.com/

"Scott Carpenter, Mercury astronaut, dead at 88," by William Harwood, www.cbsnews.com

Malcolm Scott Carpenter

NASA Photo (1964)

CARPENTER SPLASHES DOWN

SCOTT CARPENTER SPLASHES DOWN IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) Fifty-three years ago today, May 24, 1962, American astronaut Scott Carpenter*, after three successful earth orbits, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 250 miles away from his scheduled landing point.

After spending almost five hours in space aboard the Aurora 7, the astronaut then had to wait three more hours for Navy personnel to get in a position to retrieve him.  He was found bobbing up and down in his life raft beside his space capsule.

Scott Carpenter became the second American astronaut to orbit the earth and the first to eat solid food in space.  After the flight, he served in the Navy's SEALAB program and resigned from NASA in 1967. 

*Malcolm Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, was born in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado in 1962.  MSC became a US Navy pilot and served in the Korean War.

MSC died in hospice care in Denver on October 10, 2013, 50 years to the day after President John F. Kennedy presented the Collier Trophy to the Mercury 7 at the White House.

Malcolm Scott Carpenter

NASA Photo (1964)

Carpenter in Recovery Training

NASA Photo (July 1962)

SOURCE

"Scott Carpenter, Mercury astronaut, dead at 88," by William Harwood, www.cbsnews.com