Scott Carpenter was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts. He was the backup pilot for America's first manned orbital spaceflight and became the second American to go into orbit when, on 24 May 1962, he piloted his Aurora 7 capsule three times around the world. Subsequently, while on leave of absence from NASA, Carpenter became an aquanaut team leader in the Navy's Man-in-the-Sea Project, spending 30 days on the ocean floor as part of the SEALAB II program. Upon returning to his NASA duties, as executive assistant to the director of the Manned Space Flight Center, Carpenter participated in the design of the Apollo Lunar Module and in underwater extravehicular activity crew training. In 1967, he rejoined the Navy's Deep Sea Submergence Systems Project as director of Aquanaut Operations during the Sealab III experiment. In later years, Carpenter became an active author, public speaker, and consultant on ocean and space technology programs.

 

Reference

1. Carpenter, M. S., et al. We Seven – by the Astronauts Themselves. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962.