astronaut m. scott carpenter, aurora 7

8/8/2019 Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter, Aurora 7

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Malcolm nander inthe United n Project

the earth May 24, 1%2.He was born May 1, 1925, in Boulder, Colo. Th e 37-

year-old Ca rpenter is 5-feet7 lO%-inches tall and weighs155 pounds.

He attended pr ima ry a nd secondary schools in Boulder,then entered Colorado College in 1943 to participate inth e V-5 flight training program sponsored by the Navy.

After a year there, he spent 6 months in training at St.Marys Pre-Flight School, Moraga, Calif., and4 monthsin prim ary flight train ing at Ottumwa, Iowa. When theV-5 prog ram end ed at the closeof World War 11, Car-penter enrolled at the University of Colorado where hemajored in aeronautical engineering.

He left college in 1949, needing only a course in heattransfer fo r his degree, and entered the Navy. Carpenterreceived .flight train ing at Pensacola,Fla., and CorpusChristi, Tex., f rom Novem ber1949 until April 1951. He

subsequently spent 3 months at th ef le et A irborne Elec-tronics Training School at San Diego, Calif., then was ina Lockheed P2V transitional training unit at WhidbeyIsland, Wash., until O ctober of tha t year.

In November 1951 he was assigned to Patrol Squad ron6 based a t Barbers Point, Hawaii. Durin g the Koreanconflict, he was with that squadron, engaged in antisub-marine patrol, shipping surveillance and aerial miningactivities in the Yellow Sea, South China Sea, and theFormosa Straits.

Carpenter entered the Navy Test Pilot School at theNaval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Md., in 1954.

He has brown hair and green eyes.

!

After completion of his training, h e was assigned to theElectronics Test Division at the Training Center.

In this assignment, he conducted flight-test projectswith the A3D, Fl l F , and F9F, and assisted in other flight-test program s.

He attended th e Navys General Line School a t Monte-rey, Calif., for 1 0 mo nths and th e Naval Air IntelligenceSchool in Wash ington, D.C., for an additional8 months.

In August 1958, he w as assigned to the USS Hornet, anti-submarine airc raft c arrier, as Air Intelligence OBcer. H ehas accumulated more than 2,900 flying hours, includingmore than 400 in jet aircraft.

In Apr i l 1959, he was selected as a Project Mercuryastronaut following an intense screening and processingprogram by National Aeronautics and Space Administra-tion officials. Ca rpe nter was on e of th e seven who dem-onstrated the most outstanding professional backgroundand knowledge in relationship to the anticipated jobrequirements.

In all, more than 500 records were screened and 110Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine pilots who had grad-uated from test pilot school met the seven basic require-ments which had been set up. Tho se requirements were:a g e l e s s t ha n 40, height-less tha n 5-feet, 11-inch es, ex -cellent physical condition, bachelors degree (or equiv-alent), graduate of test pilot school,1,500 hours flyingtime, an d qualified j et pilot.

Following his space flight and his subsequent debriefingat Grand Turk Island, Carpenter returned to Patrick AirForce Rase at Cocoa Beach, Fla., and was faced witharound of honor-receiving ceremonies.


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A FAMILY PORTRAIT shows Jay, Kristen, andCandance in front, and Rene and Scott in therear on the page at the left. Above, and to theright, are interesting studies of Rene and Can-dance during the news conference held at CapeCanaveral following Carpenters return to theUnited States.


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THE PR0JE;CI MKKCUKY ASIKUNAUIY, selected In ApnI I Y s Y, are snown with an Atlas model.to right, seated, are Virgil I. Gus Griesom, M. Scott Carpenter -Cooper, Jr.

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Standing, left to right, are Alan B. Shepard, Jr., TT

Project Mercury is the first step in the manned spaceflight research program being conducted by the UnitedStates. Responsibility for the managemen tof the projectwas assigned to Manned Spacecraft Center, then designated Space Task Group, in October1958, when that or-ganization was activated conc urren t with the activationofthe National A eronautics and S pace Administration.

The !of theMer

The E

to carry oT he I

how and (complex s

Since that time more th an 20 Mercury Spacecraft havebeen flown in almostas many tests, includin g suborbitalspace flights by Astronauts Shepard and Grissom andthree-orbital flights by Astronauts Glenn and Carpenter.

These tests have been con ducted ona stepby -step basiswith specific objectives assigned to each flight. MSC Di-rector, Robert R. Gilruth, said recently that perhaps the

most direc t and apt descriptionof Project M ercury is thatwe are approaching the EN DO F TH E BEGINNING. Hepointed out that we are rapidly realizing the accomplish-ment of the specification mission, m anned spa ce flightand the determination of the ability of man to performin space.

Ma jor accomplishments in the p rogressof Project MET-cury include the following:

The development and expansion of managementcapability in the conductof manned space flight researchactivity.

T hehas been 1This involtechnique

T h e lection an

The1vitally imsupport 0follow- i n

All t h e

Leftrdonm, Uonald n. Ueke wayton, and L. GOI

alter M. Schirra, Jr., and John H. Glenn, Jr.

selection and verification in flight of the designm r y spacecraf t.election of a family of launc h vehicles with which

n the flight progra m.development and expansim of industrial know-xipacity for the design an d manufac ture of verypacecraft and related systems.progressive buildup of flight operations whichdrawn up and verified by the successive flights.lved developmentof new laun ch cap abilities-and

building of an earth-girdl ing tracking data col-d flight control network.development of a pool of trained space pilots-Iportant resources upon which can be built inf the more ambitious flight undertakingsof th eprogra ms-P rojects Gemini and Apollo.

sse factors a m now proven. Th e experiencen be utilized as Man ned S pacecraft Centerper-

5.

1.1 . . . * . Z - J . - - L - -- J - * L e _ _ _ ^ _ :--gainedca

sonnel an a t n a r reammaresin inauxry mu mnur U q 5 U I l 1 6 ~ -tions continue to th e more complex problems offmthey strive to meet the challenge issued by Presideninedy on May 25, 1961.national object ive-manned landing onth e moon a..- - -turn to the earth d uring this decade. The President out-lined this objective in a message to the Con-.

At th at tim e he outlined

*ed ast Ken-a new

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--J ------ r - ------16 Gs, and can simulatethe pressure, noises andacceleration o f s p a c eflight in the gondola. Inthe case of Carpenter, atmaximum performance,in the centrifuge, his nor-

mal weight of 155 poundswould be increased to2,480 pounds. T o datethe Gforces encounteredby the astronauts on Mer-cury missions have notapproached this 16 Glimit. Car pen ter is seenat the left and below inthe centrifuge and atlower left he is shown ashe emerges from it fob

CENTRIFUGE TRAIN-ING of the astronauts isconducted at the Johns-ville, Pa., Naval Air Sta-tion. This training pre-pares them, physicallyand psychologically, forthe Gfo rces they encoun-ter at lift-off and duringre-entry. T h e centrifugeat Johnsville is c apab le ofnctivitv which n r n d i i c e s


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PHYSICAL TRAINING for the as-tronauts is a continuing program,one of th e many necessary toguarantee their ability to with-stand the rigid pressures putupon them by centrifuge andothe r stren uou s types of training.

Carpenter is shown at the rightworking out on a trampoline, andbelow he is pictured with JohnGlenn on the beach at Cape Ca-naveral. Another favo rite exer-cise of the Aurora 7 pilot is weightlifting and he strongly recom-mends it to young people as anexcellent conditione r.


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on this page undergoing a series of de-:xaminations at the U.S. Naval School

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THE ASTRONAUTSegress through the topof the spacecraft aftermany of the tests theyrun . Ca rpen t e r i sshown at the left as heegresses through thetop af ter a test at Hang-a r s, and below helooks into the space-craft from other thana norm al angle. Thesepictures give a goodview of the small areawhich is available for

the astronauts duringtop egress.


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THE WHITE ROOM inHangar S is an enclosed,electronically dust-fil-t e r e d , h u m i d i t y - c o n -trolled, air-conditionedarea in which extremecleanliness of a ll surfacesand clothing is requiredin order to provide min-imum contamination ofthe spacecrafts compo-nents.

Above, Carpenter isshown in the white roomwith, left to right, backuppilot Walter Schirra,John Glenn, and an un-identif ied engineer asthey check the results ofa test.

peers into his Aurora 7spacecraft in the whiteroom p rior to entering itfor another of the manytests each Project Mer-cury spacecraf t i s pu tthrough.

At the right, Carpenter 8


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F

THE ASTRONAUTS SUIT is constantlyunder observation to make certain that nodeficiencies exist. Above, left to right, Dr.William K. Douglas, astronaut physician,

Joe Schmitt, and Schirra make a final suitcheck before Carpenters flight. At the left,Carpenter check s the wrist-lock as he talksto Douglas.


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CONFERENCES PLAY AN IMPORTANT role in a ll of the Projec t Mercury flights. Carpenter is shownabove during a Mission Planning Conference held b y Associate Direc tor Walte r C. Williams in th e E & 0

Building at Cape Canaveral. Left to right are Kenneth Kleinknecht, Williams, Christopher C. Kraft, Car-pente r, and Rob ert Mercer. Below Carpenter and backup pilot Walter M. Schirra, Jr., are shown obviouslyenjoy ing a bit of levity injecte d at the close of a confe rence .


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PERFECT MATING OF the spacecraftand t he launc h vehicle ar e basic require-ments to the successful launching ofPro jec t Mercury flights. Above the Au-rora 7 spacecraft is seen as it is hoisted tothe up per p art of th e gantry at LaunchPad 14 where it is to be mated with theAtlas 107D launch vehicle. At the right,the spacecraft is pictured as it is lowered

into position.


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AURORA 7, the nam e chosenby Scott Carpenter for hisspacecraft, has the finishingtouches of its identificationput on it by Cece Bibby.Miss Bibby is a Chrysler Cor-poration employee at CapeCanaveral. She is shownabove explaining the design

to Scott. She is th e onlyAmerican artist whose workhas twice flown around theworld on three-orbit mis-sions.

At right, Carpenter peersinto the inter ior of the space-craft pr ior to his insertion fo rhis historic orbital flight.This was to be his home, hisvehicle, and his work for anumber of hours ahead and

an 81,000 mile trip in space.


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I -~ ~I . . IDD.VI . .. -I -. - - - . -

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tron aut Trai ning Officer. Color,black and white, and inf ra red filmwere used to ob tain a record of thepilots observatio ns throu gh t hespacecraft window during the or-bital flight.

At th e left, a thoroughly relaxedAurora 7 spacecraft pilot, alongwith John Glenn, finds somethingamusing as they check the flightplan. Glenn served as technicaladviser to Carpenter and backuppilot Walter M. Schirra, Jr .

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ercises and tests as they prepare f o r themission.

In Carpenters case this was mor e


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Scott Carpenter is shown at the left inthe suit room in the crew quarters afterbeing suited for his orbital mission.Above, he leaves the transfer van atLaunch Pad 14, enroute to the gantryelevator and his ride up to the Aurora 7spacecraft. Below he is shown being. . . . 1 . . .


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S T R O N A U T M.OTT CARPENTER,

cond American toan orbital mission,

eived a warm wel-

me from his familyPatrick Ai r Forcese when he re turn ed

om Grand Turk Is-nd. He is shown,ove, as he leaves th eane to step into theen arms of his wife,

ene, and daughterristen. Seconds later

was reunited withs family at the right

he embraces Renehile Kristen a nd C an-nce close in on him.

nother member ofe family present ate airport to meetcott was his mother,rs. Florence Carpen-

r, of Boulder, Colo.he two are pictured,pper right, shortly

ter his return.


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THOUSANDS OF CHEER-ING re s id e n ts of CocoaBeach and the surroundingarea lined both sides ofHighway A1A from PatrickA i r Force Base to withinseveral miles of the southgate a t C a p e C a n a v e r a l .Scott is shown as he wavedto his enthusiastic admirers.There were many signs inthe area honoring Carpen-ter, several of which can beseen in the bottom photo.The crowd was estimated atabout 30,000 persons. Oneof t he motels along the rout ehad built a stage and as themotorcade passed that por-

tion of the parade route, ac o m b o p l a y e d YellowBird, Carpenters favoritetune. One sign, held byfour young ladies, pro-


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ACTIVITIES A T FOLSOMSTADIUM on Scott CarpenterDay in Boulder included a

numb er of awards. At the topof the page at the left, Car-pen ter is shown speaking to the17,000 people who gathered atthe University of Colorado sta-dium to see him. At lower left,Scott and Rene are shown justafter they arrived at the sta-dium, and at lower right, Scottis shown as he faces the crowd.

Pictured above is a closeupof a port ion of the crowd whichgave Carpenter a tremendousovation as he arrive d at the sta-dium and many mom duringthe ceremonies. At the left, heholds alo ft the University Rec-ognition Medal presented tohim by President Quigg New-ton, shown at his left.

Other phases of the cere-monies included the presenta-tion of a bachelor of science

degree in aeronautical engi-neering with the accompanyingannouncement that Carpenterwould officially be a mem ber ofthe gra duating class of 1962; asilver tray presented by Gover-nor Steve MeNichols with pro-foun d appreciation of th e peo-ple of Colorado; and a tea andcoffee service on behalf of thecitizens of Boulder presentedby Mayor J oh n Holloway.


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1 -h The Boulder P


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A NEWS CONFERENCE washeld at th e Harvest House fol-lowing the ceremonies at Fol-som Stadium and the paradethrough downtown Boulder.Scott is pictured at left at thatconference with Rene andJohn A. Powers, who served asmoderator.

During the conference oneman arose and identified him-self as M. S. Carpenter of thePa lme r Lake News. He said,I have a question for myfamous son.

A t lower right, Carpenteranswers one of the many ques-tions posed by the news mediarepresentatives during the

__ hour-long session.


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1 K U I ~ A U TSCOTTRPENTER and hisily accepted Presi-t Kennedy's invita-n to visit him inshington. They ar ewn at the right with

Chief Executivertly after they ar-

ed at the Whiteuse. Left to right

Rene, Presidentnnedy, Kristen, Car-ter, Scott, Can-

nce, and Jay. Be-w, the President

a k e s Carpenter'snd in f a r e w e l l .SC's Associate Direc- Walter C. Williamsseen at the right.


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NEW YORK CITYS Mayor Robert W agner fastens the citys Gold Medal of Honor around the neckof Scott Carpenter at the Waldorf-Astoria. Left to right above, are former President Herbert Hoover,Associate MSC Director Walter C. Williams, Mayor Wagner, Carpener, Rene Carpenter, and formerPresident Harry S Truman. Below are Mr. Hoover, Williams, who also received the Medal, Carpenter,and Mayor Wagner.


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TH E GRADUATING CLASS of 1% 2 at BoulderHigh School had as their commencement speakerAstronaut M. Scott Carpenter. He gave 313 mem-bers and crowd of 2,500 attending the exercises atMacky Auditorium some guidancefor living.

He said, Nineteen years have passed sinceIexperienced what you brand-new Boulder Highgrad uates ar e experiencing tonight. Du ring those19 years, I have traveled a great deal, I have seenmany wondrous sights and I have met and knownpeople fr om all walks of life.

. . . the world you enter, in case youve heardnews to the contrar y, is rich with promise. Youreally dont know the riches that await you . . . yo umust go get them. This is where the ground rulescome in.

Dont be impatient-all good thin gs take time.Be self-reliant . . . be true to yourselves. When

you have decided what is right, then stick to it.

Continue and broaden your education at allcosts, an d abo ve all-work at it. It should be thehardest work you ever do, and if it is, it will bethe most rewarding. Dont be taken in by the pop-ular fantasy that to study hard and to get goodgrades is just showing off. Tha t is not true; onthe contrary, it amounts to a pile of gold in yourbasement that will sustain you for the rest of yourlives.

In this same light, remember thatyou have somevery, very sh ar p competition. We are engaged nowin a battle with another ideology fo r the minds of

men, the effects of which may be felt for another1,000 years . . .


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CEMENT EXERCISES at the U n i v er s it y o f C o l o r a d o A s t r o n a u t M. Scott C a r p e n t e r ,i dua t ing class, w a s flanked on the speakers p l a t f o r m b y Mrs. K a t h r y n Hughes, Vi c es s o ci a te d A l u m n i o f the U n i v e r s i t y o f C o l o r a d o , an d P r o f e s s o r Benjamin H. Spur-o f the commencement. Mrs. Hughes presented t h e N o r l i n Medal, h i g h e s t alumninivers i ty, to C a r p e n t e r .

Carpenter returned to the campus:olorado Friday, June 8, to walk ation processional to Folso m Stadium .

his class had marched without himrcises.IS one of three alumni to receivems Norlin Award for outstanding:Id.ronaut had experienced his greatesthe missed receiving his bachelor ofronautical engineering because heramination in a heat transfer course.:olorado made up fo r that omission5. degree on May 29, the final creditsnt io n to space technology throughronaut program and his three-orbit

cap and gown and the orange tas-ngineering degree candidates, Car-i the other aeronautical graduates,o by faculty marshal Benjamin H.

ommencement marshal is the same>enter in the heat transfe r course in: man who speculated after Carpen-vlay 24 that the astronauts experi-

and reentry probably made him)rity on the subject of heat transfe r.

Carpenter stood and had his degree formally conferredon him with the rest of the engineering graduates, thusbecoming an official member of the Classof 1962.

The astronaut spoke briefly to the gra dua ting class andthe audience of more than 10,000 after receiving theNorlin Award.

He said, YOUhave created a debt of grati tude in myhear t tha t I can only try to repay through continued serv-ice to science and my country in the only wayI knowhow.

To h i s 1,800 fellow graduates he said,I hope that wecan become better acquainted at the reunion that willfollow. However, I have been working on my degree for20 yea rs so we must hurry.

He then quietly told his classmates, I am very, very

pro ud to be one of you.Earlier that same day, Carpenter made a helicopter

flight from Boulder to the Martin plant southwest of Den-ve r for a brief ceremony h on orin g the makers of the Titanmissile.

About 4,000 workers and a number of state and cityofficials watched as he presented the com pany with theU.S. Treasury Departments T-flag in recognition ofparticipation in the U.S. Savings Bond program.

Martin Company employees bought more than four-and-a-half millions of dollars worthof bonds last year an destablished a 94 percent participation record.

u s GO VE RNM E N T PRINTING o m c E 1962 o-as775

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office , Washington 25 , D.C. - Price 30 cents


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