If you younger types don't recognize the name, well...Scott Carpenter was one of the original "Mercury 7" astronauts. His one (and only) mission followed John Glenn's first orbital flight; he experimented with his fuel pack and as a result landed some two hundred miles away from the carrier that was to pick him up; he never flew in space again.
The space program was a major interest in my childhood, coming to an effective end as I grew more interested in science fiction---it may be that, since these guys were going to stop doing something I was interested in, I would just have to do it myself in my imagination. And every time I hear news of a death like this, a little part of me dies with them.
Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
He's kind of a local legend here in the Denver/Boulder area, where he was born, grew up and, today, died. I'll say it ... Godspeed, Scott Carpenter.