Yesterday, Scott Carpenter, an icon in the early days of
space exploration passed. He was one of only two of the original seven
astronauts. The Original 7 as they were known, were the Mercury astronauts that
would be the first Americans to go into the heavens.
In the early days of spaceflight, the Original 7 were a
competitive group of test pilots and elite armed forces pilots. This group
thrived on competition, whether it was drag racing their Corvettes on a
deserted road in Florida or in the hotspots and nightclubs of Cocoa Beach.
Scott Carpenter was one of them. The Original 7 enjoyed rock star status in the
1960's.
According to Carpenter, there were only two reasons to do
things in life—to overcome a fear, or to satisfy a curiosity. He displayed this
attitude throughout his life. He has the unique distinction of being the only
astronaut to explore both the heavens above and the oceans below.
His career in space lasted just four and a half hours,
after which he declared that everyone should have an opportunity to go to space
and experience weightlessness. He never flew in space again. Some blame him for
missing his landing spot by 250 miles by firing a retro rocket three seconds
late. Others declare him a hero for manually re-entering the atmosphere, using
visuals when the navigation system went out.
According to a letter that Carpenter
sent to the New York Times in 2001, he stated, "the system failures I
encountered during flight would have resulted in loss of the capsule and total
mission failure had a man not been aboard."
Amid controversy, Carpenter turned to the oceans, spending
a month undersea in the Navy Sealab project, becoming the only astronaut to
become an aquanaut.
Scott Carpenter Source, NASA |
However, most will remember him from his historic
spaceflight in 1962. Many thought that he was lost, including Walter Cronkite,
who expressed his concern as the nation watched the search and rescue
operation. In grand American hero style, the recovery team found him, relaxed
in his life raft, legs up on the transom, smoking a cigar.
Now the sole surviving Original 7 is John Glenn, the first
American to orbit the earth. As the backup to Glenn on that historic flight,
Carpenter called the launch from Cape Canaveral, uttering the phrase,
"Godspeed, John Glenn." Since that moment, 'Godspeed' has become a
constant in space flight vernacular.
So, it's only fitting to conclude with, "Godspeed,
Scott Carpenter."
One has to wonder if we still have the 'right stuff' like these guys did.
ReplyDeleteIt was a different era, for sure. There's talk that we can't do a manned Mars mission because the radiation exposure levels would exceed OSHA standards for the duration of the trip ... where would we be today if we didn't explore.
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