R.I.P. Scott Carpenter

Scott Carpenter in 1964 (Photo NASA)
Scott Carpenter in 1964 (Photo NASA)

Yesterday the American astronaut and aquanaut Scott Carpenter, one of the first seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program, died. A short time ago he had a stroke from which he appeared to be recovering but in recent days his condition deteriorated up to his death.

Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born on May 1, 1925 in Boulder, Colorado, USA. After earning a bachelor in science in aeronautical engineering in 1949, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was trained as a test pilot and also served during the Korean War.

In 1959, Scott Carpenter was selected in the first group of American astronauts by NASA in its Mercury program. On May 24, 1962 he was launched on the Aurora 7 spacecraft on the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission flying three times around the Earth before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1964, Scott Carpenter had a motorcycle accident that caused him a permanent problem in his left arm. Two surgeries couldn’t allow him to regain full functionality of the arm, forcing him to give up more space missions.

In 1965, Scott Carpenter participated in quite a different mission in the Sealab II project with the U.S. Navy. He became an aquanaut spending 30 days in an experimental habitat on the ocean floor. Subsequently, he directed the aquanauts of the project Sealab-III.

After leaving NASA in 1967 and the Navy in 1969, Scott Carpenter founded and directed the Sear Sciences, Inc., a company for the development of programs for the use of ocean resources and the improvement of the planet’s health. Over the years he also worked together with the famous oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Scott Carpenter shared his great experience in lectures held in various nations about the history and future of space technologies and of the oceans with particular attention to the scientific and technological progress on the future of humanity.

In his life, Scott Carpenter has been married four times. He’s survived by his fourth wife, several children and grandchildren.

Even today, the astronauts are exposed continuously to various risks in the course of their missions. In the ’60s those risks were much greater and Scott Carpenter was one of the great pioneers in this field.

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