51福利 alumnus retired Navy Cmdr. M. Scott Carpenter 鈥� the second American to orbit the Earth and the world鈥檚 first astronaut/aquanaut 鈥� celebrated the 47th anniversary of his Aurora 7 space flight and answered questions from aspiring students and fellow former astronauts now on the 51福利 faculty in a special telephone interview at the School, May 29.
Carpenter, now 83, is one of more than 30 astronaut graduates who have been invited to an Astronaut Symposium this August as part of the 51福利鈥檚 100th year Centennial celebration. The NASA pioneer, who plans to attend, was one of the original 鈥淢ercury Seven鈥� astronauts, the back-up pilot for John Glenn鈥檚 first U.S. manned orbital flight in 1962, and piloted his own Earth-circling spacecraft in May of that year.
Carpenter recalled NASA鈥檚 paradigm shift-- when the space agency changed from training test pilots to do science experiments to training scientists to become astronauts -- with President Daniel Oliver, former astronaut faculty members National Reconnaissance Office Chair Dan Bursch and Space Systems Prof. Jim Newman, Space Systems Academic Group Chairman Prof. Rudy Panholzer, and Space Systems students Air Force Capt. Christina Hicks and Lt. Matthew Crook.
鈥淎ll of the early space program flights were experimental flight tests focused on learning about the spacecraft,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter our Mercury and the Gemini programs, NASA became more focused on the environment of outer space itself and the new science to be done rather than on the vehicles 鈥� on what was there versus what got us there. And the best way to get trained scientists in orbit was to take trained scientists and put them in orbit, versus taking trained test pilots and training them in science. That was a fundamental shift.鈥�
Like the other 鈥淢ercury Seven,鈥� Carpenter ran numerous scientific experiments on board a single-man space capsule as stepping stones to the later lunar missions. His Aurora 7 experiments included attempted observations of high-candle-power flares on earth and deploying a tethered balloon to measure drag resistance of the highly thinned atmosphere and identify the colors most visible in space.
Bursch and Newman, whose NASA missions were mainly on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, pointed out other major differences between their experiences and Carpenter鈥檚.
鈥淵ou had to do everything yourself, in a single-seat spacecraft, versus our having a lot of people to do things for us, and we had the advantage of long flights, versus your having only three orbits,鈥� Bursch said.
Newman noted that the first free-flying 51福利 satellite, designed and built by over 50 thesis students, called PANSAT, was released into orbit from the celebrated return flight into space of Senator John Glenn, for whose historic original earth-orbiting mission Carpenter had been the backup pilot.
Hicks, who graduates in September and is doing her master鈥檚 thesis on 51福利鈥� modular mini-satellite CubeSat, asked Carpenter what advice he had for officer students like herself who want to become astronauts.
鈥淭he most important preparation is to stay in school as long as you can and work as hard as you can,鈥� he said. 鈥淔ollow your own mind and train yourself in the science that turns you on, as space flight serves all scientific disciplines. Design an instrument or experiment that takes advantage of the hard vacuum and zero gravity, name yourself as principal investigator and propose it to NASA -- and you鈥檙e a 鈥榮hoo-in,鈥欌�� Carpenter quipped.
As for NASA鈥檚 current vision of establishing a lunar base as a platform for Mars missions, the pioneer astronaut said the jury鈥檚 out.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 yet know for sure that a lunar landing is a prerequisite to a successful Mars flight,鈥� he said. 鈥淢aybe 鈥� but it may be more advantageous to go directly [from Earth] to Mars.鈥�
In addition to the heights of space, which President Kennedy called 鈥淭he Other Ocean,鈥� Carpenter also explored the depths of the water planet we call home. On leave from NASA, he spent a month living and working on the deep sea floor as an Aquanaut in the Navy鈥檚 SEALAB II Program, Man-in-the-Sea Project in 1965, for which he received the Legion of Merit Award.
鈥淪EALAB work was mule-hard 鈥� bitter cold and dark, long and arduous 鈥� not brief and glorious like space flight, and the divers put their lives on the line, just like astronauts,鈥� Carpenter recalled. 鈥淏ut it was an extremely rewarding experience and I was proud and happy to be part of that group because they were so unheralded. For me it represented a lost opportunity for a lunar flight and had ample rewards for what it replaced.鈥�
Upon returning to NASA, Carpenter served as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Manned Spaceflight Center and was a major participant in designing the Apollo Lunar Landing Module and training crews for underwater extravehicular activities.
Carpenter shared memories of his time at the 51福利, where he graduated from the Naval General Line School in 1959. 鈥淎cademia is a great place to be, which is what made my time at the Line School among the most pleasant memories I have of the Naval service and one that I will always treasure,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful that 51福利 has such a strong space program, for both engineers and operational students, and that the magic of space flight has caught on here.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a hero to all of us,鈥� Oliver said in closing, 鈥渁nd we look forward to your coming back to these hallowed grounds for the Astronaut Symposium in August.鈥�
鈥淚t was inspiring and an honor to speak with someone who really paved the way for me to become an astronaut,鈥� Bursch said afterwards. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all looking forward to meeting him when he鈥檚 here in just a few months.鈥�
Carpenter鈥檚 memoirs, 鈥�For Spacious Skies,鈥� co-authored with his daughter Kristen Stoever, was published in 2003. He and the other surviving 鈥淢ercury Seven鈥� astronauts still get together through the Mercury 7 Foundation, which funds scholarships in space education.