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5-4-3-2-1- Lift Off…

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Aurora Seven.\h

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A capsule named by its pilot, Astronaut Scott
Carpenter, leaves earth for the vastness of

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space.

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\h
It is the second time the United States will

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send an American into orbit around the Earth.\h

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\h
The first orbiting astronaut, John Glenn,

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launched a few months earlier and proved the
United States could indeed successfully send

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a human being into space, navigate his ship
in orbit, and come home to a pre-determined

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spot on the planet.\h

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\h
However…

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could NASA do it again?\h

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And if so, what difficulties might an astronaut
face with a more rigorous experiment schedule

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on board.\h

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These and other questions await answers from
Aurora 7.

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\h
For months, the second Mercury capsule planned

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to take an Astronaut into orbit has steadily
been readied on Launch Pad LC-14.

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\h
Spacecraft No. 18, fresh from McDonnell’s

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assembly line in St. Louis Missouri, has been
placed above an Atlas D rocket and painstakingly

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readied for the next opportunity to leave
earth.

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\h
The official mission objective is simple:

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“Corroborate man-in-orbit.”

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The task however, was anything but.\h

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It would be complex, sophisticated and potentially
dangerous.

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Project Mercury, named for the mythical speedy
messenger of ancient Roman gods, was selected

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as the program name to take American astronauts
likewise speeding into the heavens.\h

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The mission would be to study the physiological
and psychological affects of space travel

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on the human body.\h

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\h
In total, twenty Mercury vehicles were built

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and delivered to NASA at Cape Canaveral Florida
between January 12, 1959 and May 16, 1963.\h

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Of the twenty, six carry astronauts for a
total 54 hours of flight time in space; a

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huge feat for space ship the size of a Volkswagen
Beatle.

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\h
Starting in 1959, a total of 508 volunteer

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military service records are screened and
whittled down to 110 active duty military

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pilot candidates.\h

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\h
From there, the number was finally reduced

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to seven, the Mercury Seven, as they would
be known.

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The word Astronaut (beat) would still need
to be invented.

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\h
Over a year of training would follow for newly

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minted Astronaut Scott Carpenter.

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Both he and his equally new Aurora Seven capsule
would help take the fledgling NASA onto a

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journey with the odds slightly in favor of
success.

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\h
While John Glenn’s’ first orbital mission

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was focused on the effects of microgravity
on the astronaut and his control of the capsule,

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Carpenters mission is more narrowly focused
on observing the happenings of his spacecraft

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and the experiments taking place outside the
capsule.

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\h
The early morning launch of the Atlas D rocket

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was near perfect (beat) however trouble soon
arrived as Aurora 7 slipped into orbit.

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\h
As was experienced by John Glenn in the Friendship

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7 capsule, the spacecrafts’ pitch horizon
scanner, an important navigation device for

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properly aligning the spacecrafts orientation
to the planet had malfunctioned.

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\h
Upon discovery of the malfunctioning scanner,

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steps are taken to manually correct the flight
path.

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\h
However, the adjustments only address a few

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of the problems that will plague the mission.

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\h
During the first dark side pass, Carpenter

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maneuvers his craft to observe ground flare
experiments in Australia.\h

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By too eagerly pulsing the maneuvering jets
to rotate the capsule from side to side, (beat)

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as apposed to a much slower method of a controlled
“rotate and wait method,” the limited

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hydrogen peroxide fuel supply is depleted
faster than ground controllers anticipate.

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\h
With the aggressive rotations comes an excessive

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heat build up inside the capsule.\h

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Carpenter reports that sweat is interfering
with his vision and making course adjustments

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much more difficult.\h

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\h

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NASA Flight Doctors note a spike in Carpenters
body temperature to 102 degrees which may

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explain the slowed speech pattern in various
reports the astronaut has made to ground control.\h

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\h
\h

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Engineers meet to plan an abort, however a
discussion with ground technicians and flight

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controllers resolve to continue the mission.

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\h
Soon, planned observations of weightless liquid

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and orbital targeting balloons, photography
of terrestrial features and other meteorological

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phenomena are carried out.

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\h
All the while, ground control stations around

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the globe maintain a watchful eye on the slowly
depleting fuel supply.\h

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\h
Unknown to Carpenter or anyone on else the

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ground, another malfunction awaits.

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\h
A timing mechanism for the retro rockets attached

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over the ablative heat shield and key to slowing
the capsule for reentry, is not working properly.

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\h
As the time to fire the rockets automatically

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fire comes and goes, Carpenter must manually
flip the trigger switch within a second.\h

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Two seconds later, the light of the three
rockets illuminate the night.

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\h
Although three seconds may not appear critical,

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when one is travelling over seventeen thousand
- five hundred miles an hour or literally

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five miles per second, three seconds equates
to fifteen miles back on the ground.

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\h
The incorrect angle of reentry puts the Aurora

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Seven spacecraft nearly two hundred and fifty
miles off course and further away from the

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US east coast.\h

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\h\h
To survive his decent back into the thick

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atmosphere of earth, Carpenter would need
to gingerly coax what little fuel remained

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and make minor reentry angle adjustments to
control his falling capsule by manually steering

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the capsule and keeping the horizon in view
through his one and only window.

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\h
G forces last longer than originally expected

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on the descent but they are welcome as it
means aerodynamic pressure is being exerted

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against the capsule and helping to keep an
even trajectory on the way down.

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At 120,000 feet, Carpenter exhausts the very
last of his fuel controlling the plummeting

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capsule.\h

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If he failed to do so, the capsule might have
toppled completely 180 degrees and face topside

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down.\h

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Such an occurrence would point the drogue
parachute in the wrong direction and snap

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the capsule back around so violently that
the chute could be destroyed or severely injure

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Carpenter.

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Oscillations become worse and the capsule
begins to sway through a 270 degrees arc;

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almost a full circle.\h

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Carpenter has no choice but to manually deploy
the drogue chute early at 26,000 feet, 5,000

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feet higher than anticipated, to stabilize
the craft.

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He holds his breath as the six-foot drogue
comes out (beat) in good shape, and the descent

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comes back into control.

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\h
Soon, the altimeter shows 10,000 feet, Carpenter

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manually deploys the chute and slows the craft
before splashdown.\h

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Back on the ground, Gus Grissom, the second
American in space and now capsule communicator

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or CAPCOM at Cape Canaveral Control Center
advises Carpenter he had indeed overshot his

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target area and that recovery teams were on
their way.\h\h

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Approximately 45 minutes after his splashdown,
1000 miles southeast of the Cape, planes from

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the USS Intrepid spot his location.\h\h

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Two rescue swimmers soon leap from orbiting
helicopters to ensure Carpenter is safe and

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then proceed to secure a flotation collar
to the bobbing capsule.

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With the capsule secured from sinking, Carpenter
offers the rescue swimmers food and water

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from his survival kit thankful for a safe
return.

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\h
A few hours later, the second American astronaut

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to orbit the earth arrives aboard Intrepid
and then to Grand Turk Island for debriefing.

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\h
Carpenter is later awarded the NASA Distinguished

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Service Medal by Administrator James Webb
during a ceremony held at Cape Canaveral on

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May 27, 1962 on behalf of a grateful nation.

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\h
His successful mission to carryout important

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tests and experiments will ultimately show
the Mercury spacecraft system can be improved

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and become a stable and safe capsule for other
manned orbital missions to follow.

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\h
From Mercury to Gemini.\h

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From Apollo to the Space Shuttle and eventually,
Orion.\h

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The contribution of Scott Carpenter and the
thousands of men and women who helped get

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him to orbit and safely home, started a legacy
that continues to this day.\h

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\h
A uniquely American legacy to learn and create

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a safe, durable and reliable method for our
Astronauts to explore our world and those

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beyond the solar system.

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\h
But it is only a part in the larger effort

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to pioneer the future in space exploration,
to lead scientific discovery and pursue aeronautic

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research here at home.

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\h
Aurora Seven.\h