M. Scott Carpenter

Carpenter, M. Scott (1925– ), second U.S. astronaut to circle the earth in a spacecraft. Carpenter served in the Navy in both World War II (1930–45) and the Korean War (1950–53), becoming a test pilot in 1954 and completing Naval Air Intelligence School in 1958. In 1959, he was selected as one of 7 men for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Project Mercury. He made a 3- orbit flight in the Aurora 7 on May 24, 1962. In 1965, he became an aquanaut and directed the Navy's Sealab II experiment, living and working 205 ft (62 m) under the Pacific Ocean, to improve submarine rescue efforts. He returned to NASA in 1966 as branch chief for advanced programs. A year later he resigned from NASA to continue deep-sea research for the Navy, helping to develop Sealab III. In 1969, he retired from the Navy.

See also: Astronaut.