posted 05-01-2015 04:32 PM               

Scott Carpenter Memorial and Tree Planting

Astronaut Tree Grove
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
May 1, 2015

Friday (May 1) would have been Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter's 90th birthday. To mark the date and his death on Oct. 10, 2013, his family, friends, fellow astronauts and NASA colleagues gathered at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to remember his legacy and plant a tree in his honor.

A memorial service included an invocation delivered by astronaut Doug Wheelock, an introduction by JSC director Ellen Ochoa (who also delivered a tribute on behalf of John Glenn), and tributes by flight director Glynn Lunney, astronaut Bob Crippen and astronaut Jon McBride.

At the tree dedication following the service, Carpenter's son Matt and widow Patty delivered remarks before the performance of Taps and a T-38 "Missing Man" flyover. Among those placing roses at the base of Carpenter's tree were former Johnson director George Abbey and a number of past and current astronauts including Joe Engle, Franklin Chang Diaz, Dan Brandenstein, Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Don Pettit, Mark Polansky, Mario Runco, Mike Fossum and Jessica Meir.