Scott Carpenter R.I.P.

[beana51]

Scott Carpenter, Second American To Orbit Earth, Dies At Age 88

God Speed Scott Carpenter!

[PRB]

A sad day indeed. Godspeed Scott Carpenter...

[Skyhawk_310R]

Sadly, they will all be dead of old age long before we ever put another human being outside the low and medium earth orbit. Because while going to the moon was truly epic, the moon is still part of the high earth orbit structure!

Ken

[txnetcop]

That is sad news...his contributions will never be forgotten! Rest in Peace Commander Carpenter
Ted

[beana51]

This leaves us with John Glenn..Our Last Astronaut Living....When again in our life time will such men again be called on???Not Mine Fer Sure..Nor I feel for My Kids,my Kids kids,and yes My Kids,Kids,Kids...For Some The Crowning Memory in their Life may have been the Wright Bros..First Flight! For Me? It Was The Man On The Moon and these RIGHT STUFF GUYS who did it...God Bless Them All!

[Tako_Kichi]

This leaves us with John Glenn..Our Last Astronaut Living....

Cough................I think you are forgetting the numerous astronauts who flew on all the Space Shuttle missions and served on the International Space Station. :isadizzy:

Granted they never left Earth orbit but they are still astronauts.

[beana51]

Larry get some cough medicine...hope ya feel better...Here,This May help Ya...Vin


The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. This was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century—Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle.
These seven original American astronauts were Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton. All are deceased except for Glenn..." ALL ARE DECEASED EXCEPT FOR GLENN"....

[ViperPilot2]

The Mercury Seven astronauts set the example for all that followed in their footsteps. The legacy of men like Carpenter and Schirra, Glenn and Slayton forms an integral part of all who earned the title of Astronaut; from Conrad and Lovell, Swigert and Schmitt, Young and Schweickhart, to Crippen, Hartsfeld, Ride, Bluford, Jemison, Onizuka and all the others.

When the next generation of astronauts ventures back out into the expanse of deep space, they'll think of those names with reverence.

Attachment 94150

[Tako_Kichi]

Larry get some cough medicine...hope ya feel better...Here,This May help Ya...Vin


The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. This was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century—Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle.
These seven original American astronauts were Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton. All are deceased except for Glenn..." ALL ARE DECEASED EXCEPT FOR GLENN"....

Glenn may be the last survivor of the 'Original Seven' but he is not the last surviving astronaut which is what you alluded to in your original post.

[beana51]

Did You not see the Picture?...The Original RIGHT STUFF GUYS...the Original Seven .It was they who the late Scott Carpenter was part of.Its obvious we were to referring to that unique bunch.The First Seven,Of Which Only John Glenn survives!!and not the whole Program..The Very first Astronauts..That exclusive club.No where was the whole Space program noted,not even the First "CHIMP".that other unsung hero.Sorry if you got confused Larry, Hope Yer Cough Is Improving!

[mgchrist5]

RIP and Godspeed, Scott Carpenter. He and his Mercury Seven cohorts were representative of a better time in this country; a time that unfortunately has long since faded, only to be replaced by our current wretched state of affairs. They were true heroes in every sense of the word.

It's humbling to think of the bravery of the first astronauts (and cosmonauts), particularly when one thinks of what qualifies someone for "hero" status nowadays....ie: sports 'stars' and celebrities and whatnot....

I think it's time to dust off my 'Right Stuff' DVD for the weekend. :salute:

[beana51]

Some Wonderful Pic in this article...Hope you enjoy them as i did..Vin


http://news.yahoo.com/john-glenn-sco...150251995.html

[Skyhawk_310R]

Just a quick technical point here. We have never put a human being past earth orbit. In theory, the Saturn V might have been able to escape earth orbit, but then how would he have returned home after doing this?

The gravity of earth and the moon were critical components to the flights of the Apollo program, both as a mechanism to get to the moon and also a mechanism to get back home. And the moon is very much in earth orbit.

The technology to achieve this is certainly there. What's missing is the desire to pay the money and take the risks inherent in the process. A manned mission to Mars for example is well within the framework of existing technology. But, I seriously wonder if humanity today has the desire to really do it. It is a lot more difficult and expensive to send a ship with people onboard than sending a ship without. As the quality of remotely operated sensors and communications have improved, one must really wonder if manned missions in the solar system have sufficient value to even bother. I mean, what could we have learned from a manned mission to Mars that we have not already learned from the various remotely operated vehicles already sent?

Going back to Scott Carpenter, I remember what his fellow Mercury astronauts said about him. He only went into space once due to a conflict that arouse between NASA supervisors, specifically Chris Kraft. But, his fellow astronauts said Carpenter got more out of that one flight than any other person ever did. In many ways, Carpenter was the most philosophically astute of the Mercury Seven. But, the truth is that Carpenter had to conduct much of the reentry maneuver manually due to a series of mechanical malfunctions in the automated controls. That he never flew in space again was truly a reflection of the control contest between the ground controllers and the astronauts, and what was lost at the time is that without the manual piloting skills of Carpenter, the mechanical failures would have likely resulted in his death and the loss of the spacecraft in reentry.

Sadly, many of the NASA ground controllers, including Kraft, peddled an angle that blamed additional fuel expenditures on Carpenter not paying attention while conducting experiments, going so far initially as to blame these lapses on delays in the firing of the reentry boosters. But, later on more objective research into the mission proved it was really a series of mechanical failures and it was Carpenter who single-handedly willed that mission to a successful finish. Two failures required Carpenter to engage manual overrides, and he had to engage them twice because the first time the automatic systems failed to release control to him. He splashed down 250 miles from the planned point, but was such a cool customer that he was floating in the life raft beside the spacecraft when he was found. One suspects if he had a fishing pole with him, he'd have baited it and tried his hand to net one!

Carpenter proved that the so-called "man in the can," was really and truly a pilot in command. It's a shame the politics got in the way of truly recognizing the outstanding skills and coolness under pressure that Carpenter showed that day. What the man really did was totally validate, and vindicate, the astronauts for demanding there be manually operated controls to backup the automated systems.

Ken