Carpenter, M. Scott (1925-2013), one of the first United States astronauts, was the second American to circle Earth in a spacecraft. John Glenn was the first. During Carpenter’s three-orbit flight in the Aurora 7 spacecraft on May 24, 1962, he conducted a number of experiments, made observations on the atmosphere, and photographed Earth. His trip ended dramatically when his spacecraft landed more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) beyond the intended landing area. He was out of contact with the recovery forces for almost an hour before a search plane spotted him.
Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born on May 1, 1925, in Boulder, Colorado. He served in the Navy during World War II (1939-1945) and then studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Colorado. He served as a Navy pilot during the Korean War (1950-1953) and became a test pilot in 1954. In 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Carpenter to be an astronaut in the Mercury program. In 1965, Carpenter took a leave of absence from NASA to be an aquanaut in the Navy’s Man-in-the-Sea program. In 1966, he became branch chief for advanced programs for NASA. He resigned from NASA in 1967 to do deep-sea research for the Navy. Leg injuries ended his deep-diving career in 1969. He retired from the Navy that year. Carpenter died on Oct. 10, 2013.
