Scott Carpenter
Scott Carpenter was born in Boulder, Colorado, on May 1, 1925. He began his career in the U.S. Navy in 1949. During the Korean War he flew missions in the Yellow Sea, South China Sea, and the Formosa Straits. After the war, he became a test pilot at Patuxent River, Maryland.
Carpenter was selected as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts on April 9, 1959. He served as backup pilot for John Glenn during the preparation for America's first manned orbital space flight in February 1962.
He flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962, aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft.
After Mercur, Carpenter joined the Navy's Man-in the-Sea project. Carpenter spent 30 days living and working on the ocean floor in SEALAB II.
Later, Carpenter returned to NASA as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Manned Spaceflight Center.
In 1967, he returned to the ocean as Director of Aquanaut Operations for the SEALAB III experiment.
In 1969, Carpenter retired from the Navy. He worked as a comsultant in aerospace and ocean engineering and continues to lecture frequently on the history and future of ocean and space technology.
References: