SCOTT CARPENTER
Scott Carpenter, a fifth-generation Coloradan, was born in May
1, 1925. He lived at 7th Street and Aurora Avenue. When he was a senior at
Boulder High School, 1943, he joined the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet
and served until the end of World War II in September 1945. He returned
to Boulder to complete his education at the University of Colorado. In
1949, one course short of a bachelor's degree in aeronautical
engineering, Carpenter rejoined the Navy, earning his wings in 1951.
In April 1959, Lt. Cmdr. Carpenter was selected as one of the original seven Mercury
astronauts. He flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962, piloting
his spacecraft, Aurora 7, through three revolutions of the Earth, reaching a maximum
altitude of 164 miles and landing in the Atlantic Ocean after 4 hours and 54 minutes aloft.
He was granted a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1962, a few months
after his historic flight. The University honored him that year with the George Norlin
award. Carpenter received an honorary doctorate from the University in 2000.
In 1965, while on leave from the National Aeronautics and Space administration
(NASA), Cmdr. Carpenter participated in the U.S. Navy's Man-in-the-Sea
Program off the coast of California. He spent 30 days living and working on
the ocean floor at a depth of 205 feet. This achievement and his
accomplishments in space earned him the dual title of astronaut/aquanaut.
This park was originally dedicated in 1962 and rededicated in 1999
to honor our former Boulder resident, Scott Carpenter.
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