Godspeed, Scott Carpenter.

[Michael]

Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, Second American in Orbit, Dies at 88

When I was a kid, my grandfather and parents took me to see the Gemini capsule on display in Houston. I would have been around 5 at the time. After seeing the spacesuit, I remember asking my father how astronauts went to the bathroom. My father just looked at me and said "that's a good question".

It wasn't until years later that I heard that Scott Carpenter actually had to sit on the launch pad for hours before his launch and he ultimately had to get permission to pee in his suit.

Godspeed Scott Carpenter.

 

[Michael]

Gah, it was actually Alan Shepard that wet his spacesuit, not Scott Carpenter. Sorry about that Scott.

 

[AV1611VET]

Thank you for sharing this.

 

[Michael]

Frankly I'm a little embarrassed for blaming poor Scott for Alan's dirty deed.

At least he got "official permission" before "letting loose". I think NASA should have invested in an airtight zipper rather than a pen that worked in space. The ever practical Russians solved that particular problem with a number 2 pencil whereas an airtight zipper would have come in *extremely* handy for poor old Alan.

 

[AV1611VET]

I think NASA should have invested in an airtight zipper rather than a pen that worked in space.

I had one of those!

That thing wrote on wet surfaces!

 

[rjw]

Gah, it was actually Alan Shepard that wet his spacesuit, not Scott Carpenter. Sorry about that Scott.

That scene in the movie, "The Right Stuff" was quite funny.

Did you see it?

Shepard sitting in his capsule, waiting to go, having had four cups of coffee before he left for "work". And he is sitting, and sitting, and sitting, waiting for the "Go". All he can hear (across the intercom?) is water gurgling from the office water coolers, toilets flushing and coffee being poured into cups.

 

[Strathos]

Sad to hear.

 

[selfinflikted]

That scene in the movie, "The Right Stuff" was quite funny.

Did you see it?

Shepard sitting in his capsule, waiting to go, having had four cups of coffee before he left for "work". And he is sitting, and sitting, and sitting, waiting for the "Go". All he can hear (across the intercom?) is water gurgling from the office water coolers, toilets flushing and coffee being poured into cups.

Great movie, by the way.

 

[Michael]

That scene in the movie, "The Right Stuff" was quite funny.

Did you see it?

Shepard sitting in his capsule, waiting to go, having had four cups of coffee before he left for "work". And he is sitting, and sitting, and sitting, waiting for the "Go". All he can hear (across the intercom?) is water gurgling from the office water coolers, toilets flushing and coffee being poured into cups.

I did see the movie, and that was a very funny scene.

 

[Michael]

FYI, I think it's noteworthy how much impact the Gemini and Apollo missions had on my own personal love of science in general and cosmology specifically. Those missions really changed my life quite personally. I really do owe a *huge* amount to folks like Scott (and Alan) for risking their lives in the name of science, and for moving science forward at such a break neck pace. I can't even count all the great things that have come out of the space program over the decades, but silicon resistors and chips and computers are my personal favorite.

Thank you Scott Carpenter.