posted May 24, 2010 07:12 AM               

Back then I regarded Scott as a great and inspirational hero, and that feeling has never wavered in all the years that have followed. Our older son Scott was even named for him. I've had the great privilege of meeting Scott Carpenter several times over the years, and have never found him to be anything but gracious, pleasant and a true gentleman.

posted May 24, 2010 08:09 AM               

An mp3 file of this interview will be made available on Scott's website as soon as possible. Comments about the interview will be passed on to Cmdr. Carpenter if sent to webmaster@scottcarpenter.com.

posted May 24, 2010 06:27 PM               

Happy anniversary to a true American legend.

posted February 02, 2011 09:52 PM               

Plane Crash Mars Orbit Preparations

May 18, 1962 - 14 killed in Air Force Contingency Recovery plane crash. A C-130 involved in preparing emergency recovery operations for the Mercury-Atlas 7 Scott Carpenter orbital mission crashed in Africa.

posted May 24, 2011 08:13 AM               

Come the going home bell nobody moved despite it being normal for the school to be devoid of pupils five minutes after the release signal. In fact, most of the class stayed until we were kicked out by the caretaker some 90 minutes later.

posted April 04, 2012 08:45 AM               

He's taken some really unfair criticism with his usually gentlemanly forbearance.

One thing critics fail to mention is that by bringing down a flawed spacecraft - fatally flawed without Scott Carpenter at the controls - he might have saved the space program itself. An astronaut dying in flight would have set back American manned spaceflight for decades. We might have gone into 2000 with a program much like China does now.

His contribution to training astronauts underwater, standard to this day, merits thanks.

posted April 04, 2012 04:29 PM               

Pilot Performance (Page 65, "Sustainer Stage Tracking")

The pilot readily sighted the sustainer stage (spend Atlas booster) through the spacecraft window after completion of the spacecraft turnaround at a calculated distance of approximately 300 yards.

He continued to observe and photograph the sustainer for 8 1/2 minutes at which time the sustainer stage was calculated to be at a range of 3 miles behind and below the spacecraft...

Pilots Flight Report (Page 70):

Following the turnaround, I watched the expended launch vehicle through the window as it fell behind me, tumbling slowly. It was bright and easily visible. I could see what looked like little ice crystals emanating from the sustainer engine nozzle...

Appendix MA-7 Air-to ground communications (Page 78 and 79):

00 05 52 Pilot, "Okay, turnaround has stopped. I'm pitching down. I have the moon in the center of the window, and the booster off to the right slightly."

00 06 58 Pilot, "Roger. The control system on fly-by-wire is very good. I have the booster in the center of the window now, tumbling very slowly."

00 07 04.5 Pilot, "A steady stream of gas, white gas, out of the sustainer engine. Going to ASCS now."

00 09 54.5 Pilot, "Mark. One picture of the booster. Going to transmit and record now. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 .......10, 11, 12 pictures of the booster, traveling right down the center of the booster, right down the center of the window."

0010 34 Pilot, "...The, let's see, where's the booster? There's some beautiful cloud patterns down there. The booster is in front of a large cloud pattern. I seem to be, I seem to be much closer to the earth than I expected to be. The booster is 2 miles away now."

00 11 40 Pilot, "I have some pictures of the booster, maybe 17 or 18, all together. Then going to the horizon, north sweeping south. There is the moon, just setting. Winding the camera at this time."

posted April 04, 2012 10:57 PM               

Among these, I have read that a camera that Scott had in his hand and his Breitling watch were badly damaged by seawater, and his Randall knife was lost during his recovery. I haven't seen too many photos from MA-7, so my assumption is that most of the frames were lost when the camera was swamped.

Anyone who has seen the fine Spacecraft Films DVD can see the dipping Carpenter took while on the winch, and the poor quality of cockpit film due to the entrance of salt water to the cabin. Scott took the backup exit path through the top of the spacecraft to keep an open side hatch from flooding and sinking Aurora 7.

posted April 15, 2012 01:14 AM               

I'm just sorry that I didn't keep all of the voice mails that he left me. Each and every one of them was a keeper.

He also pays very close attention to all of the feedback that I give him from e-mail that is generated through his site. He is very interested in what all of you have to say.

posted May 23, 2012 03:25 PM               

I have been following her "live" mission updates and reports since she started doing this and it is pretty fun to follow. The last one she tweeted was Apollo 16 from pre-flight to splashdown and it was spectacular.

posted May 23, 2012 04:53 PM               

Having the opportunity, on several occasions, to study it at length, I find it absolutely amazing how SMALL that damn thing is. I am also struck by how brave these guys were, not only to get in it in the first place, but to spend any significant length of time inside it.

posted May 23, 2012 05:40 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Headshot:
Having the opportunity, on several occasions, to study it at length, I find it absolutely amazing how SMALL that damn thing is. I am also struck by how brave these guys were, not only to get in it in the first place, but to spend any significant length of time inside it.

---

I get the same feeling every time I visit Sigma 7 at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. I'm just under 6 feet tall and fairly skinny, and I don't even fit into the Mercury mockup.

posted May 24, 2012 12:43 PM               

I'm glad Scott Carpenter is still here to remind us of when adventure was something to be sought instead of a risk to be avoided.

Here's to him.