On This Day in Space! May 24, 1962: Scott Carpenter becomes 2nd American in orbit, ,
On May 24, 1962, NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter became the fourth American to go to space and the second American to orbit the Earth.
Carpenter was one of NASA’s first group of astronauts known as the “Mercury Seven.” He was the backup pilot for John Glenn, who first orbited Earth three months earlier. It was Carpenter who famously said “Godspeed, John Glenn” during that flight.
Behind the Scenes: Inside Astronaut Scott Carpenter’s 1962 Mercury Flight (Photos)
[image error]
Scott Carpenter’s Aurora 7 Mercury Atlas rocket lifts off from Pad 14, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 24, 1962. (Image credit: NASA)The two astronauts had very similar missions, though Carpenter’s tasks involved more science experiments. They both lifted off on Mercury-Atlas rockets from the same launchpad at Cape Canaveral, and they both completed three orbits in just under 5 hours. But one big difference between the two missions was the accuracy of their landings.
Glenn had missed his target by about 50 miles, but Carpenter overshot it by about 250 miles. He ended up bobbing around in the ocean for over an hour while recovery teams tried to find him. Some NASA officials said Carpenter was distracted and had started his landing preparations late.
Carpenter admitted to making some mistakes, but he also partly blamed the miss on problems with the spacecraft’s controls.
Catch up on our entire “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist.
[image error]
History of NASA: $22.99 at Magazines Direct
Discover the story of how and why NASA was created, its greatest triumphs, darkest days, and of the times it exceeded all possible hopes. A tale of adventure, heroism and resourcefulness, learn of the space agency’s greatest achievements and how — over six decades — the organization has consistently and tirelessly devoted itself to its founding principle: that “activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all humankind”. View Deal
Still not enough space? Don’t forget to check out our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week.
Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
The post On This Day in Space! May 24, 1962: Scott Carpenter becomes 2nd American in orbit, , appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
