ABOUT SCOTT
SCOTT CARPENTER
NASA ASTRONAUT (Retired)
 Scott Carpenter, a dynamic
pioneer of modern exploration, has the unique distinction of being the
first human ever to penetrate both inner and outer space, thereby
acquiring the dual title Astronaut/Aquanaut.
He was born in Boulder
Colorado, on May 1, 1925, the son of research chemist Dr. M. Scott
Carpenter and Florence Kelso Noxon Carpenter. He attended the University
of Colorado from 1945 to 1949 and received a bachelor of science degree
in Aeronautical Engineering.
Carpenter was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1949. He received and
underwent flight training at Pensacola,
Florida and Corpus Christi, Texas and designated a Naval Aviator in
April 1951. During the Korean War, he served with patrol Squadron Six,
flying anti-submarine, ship surveillance, aerial mining and ferret
missions in the Yellow Sea, South China Sea and the Formosa Straits. He
attended the Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River Maryland in 1954,
and was subsequently assigned to the Electronics Test Division of the
Naval Air Test Center, also at Patuxent. In that assignment, he flew
tests in every type of naval aircraft, including multi- and
single-engine jet and propeller-driven fighters, attack planes, patrol
bombers, transports, and seaplanes.
From 1957 to 1959, he attended
the Navy General Line School and the Navy Air Intelligence School, and
was then assigned as Air Intelligence Officer to the Aircraft Carrier
USS Hornet.
 Carpenter was selected as one
of the original seven Mercury Astronauts on April 9, 1959. He underwent
intensive training with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), specializing in communication and navigation. He
served as backup pilot for John Glenn during the preparation for
America’s first manned orbital space flight in February 1962.
Carpenter flew the second
American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962. He piloted his Aurora 7
spacecraft through three revolutions of the earth, reaching a maximum
altitude of 164 miles. The spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean about
1000 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral after 4 hours and 54 minutes of
flight time.
In the
summer of 1965, on leave of absence from NASA,
Carpenter participated in the Navy’s Man-in the-Sea Project as an
Aquanaut in the SEALAB II program off the coast of La Jolla, California. During the 45-day experiment, Carpenter spent 30
days living and working on the ocean floor. He was team leader for two
of the three ten-man teams of Navy and civilian divers. These divers conducted
deep-sea diving activities in a seafloor habitat at a depth of 205 feet.
He returned to duties with
NASA as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Manned Spaceflight
Center. There, Scott was active in the design of the Apollo Lunar Landing Module
and in underwater extravehicular activity (EVA) crew training.
In 1967, he returned to the
Navy’s Deep Submergence Systems Project (DSSP) appointed as Director of Aquanaut
Operations during the SEALAB III experiment. The DSSP office was
responsible for directing the Navy’s Saturation Diving Program, which
included development of deep-ocean search, rescue, salvage, ocean
engineering, and Man-in-the-Sea capabilities.
 Upon
retirement from the Navy in 1969,after over 20 years of service, Carpenter founded and was
chief executive officer of Sear Sciences, Inc., a venture capital
corporation active in developing programs aimed at enhanced utilization
of ocean resources and improved health of the planet. In pursuit of
these and other objectives, he worked closely with the French
oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau and members of his Calypso team. He has
dived in most of the world’s oceans, including the Arctic under ice.
As a consultant to sport and
professional diving equipment manufacturers, he has contributed to
design improvements in diving instruments, underwater breathing
equipment, swimmer propulsion units, small submersibles and other
underwater devices.
Additional projects brought to
fruition by his innovative guidance have involved biological pest
control and the production of energy from agricultural and industrial
waste. He has also been instrumental in the design and improvement of
several types of waste handling and waste-transfer equipment.
Carpenter continues to apply his knowledge of aerospace and ocean
engineering as a consultant to industry and the private sector. He
lectures frequently in the U.S. and abroad on the history and future of
ocean and space technology, the impact of scientific and technological
advance on human affairs, and man’s continuing search for excellence. An
avid skier, he spends much of his free time on the slopes in his home of
Vail, Colorado.
 He has appeared as television
spokesman for many major corporations, including General Motors
(Oldsmobile), Standard Oil of California, Nintendo, and Atari; and has
hosted and narrated a number of television documentaries. He has also
served as actor/consultant to the film industry in the fields of space
flight, oceanography and the global environment.
 He has written two novels,
both dubbed “underwater techno-thrillers.” The first was entitled “The
Steel Albatross.” The second, a sequel, was called “Deep Flight.” His
memoir, “For Spacious Skies”, which he co-authored with his daughter Kristen Stoever, published by Harcourt in January 2003.
Carpenter’s awards include
 The
Navy’s Legion of Merit
The Distinguished Flying Cross
The NASA
Distinguished Service Medal
U.S. Navy Astronaut Wings
The University
of Colorado Recognition Medal
The Collier Trophy
The New York City
Gold Medal of Honor
The Elisha Kent Kane Medal
The Ustica Gold
Trident
San
Diego Air and Space Museum Inductee
Founder
and Inductee - Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
The Boy Scouts of America Silver Buffalo
He has been
awarded seven honorary degrees.
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