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1925—, American astronaut, b. Boulder, Colo. The second American to go into orbital flight around the earth, he made his historic and suspenseful flight on May 24, 1962. In his three-orbit trip he repeated the earlier success of John Glenn. Carpenter's second orbit was under manual control, and during it he discovered that he could make small changes in the capsule's orientation in space by movements of his head and arms. On descending, his capsule, Aurora 7, overshot the pickup area by 250 nautical mi (463 km) causing nationwide concern for his safety. A commander in the U.S. navy, Carpenter had served with an antisubmarine patrol during the Korean War. From 1965 to 1967 he was a member of the navy aquanaut project and in 1969 retired from the navy to go into private business.
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