Sigma 7 launched on October 3, 1962.  It was a successful mission with a total of 8 hours 56 min. and 22 seconds of weightlessness.  That is pretty close to the 9-hour mark!  Actually, the entire mission did last over 9 hours when you include launch and splashdown.  This was the first perfect mission for Project Mercury.  No problems.  Schirra spent most of the time testing the autopilot for the capsule.  He also tried to steer by the stars.  It was the first mission to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1965 the Navy placed SEALAB II off the coast of California.  SEALAB was an underwater habitat.  The Navy performed many diving and salvaging experiments in SEALAB.  Scott Carpenter lived in SEALAB for 30 days at a depth of 200 feet.  He is an astronaut/aquanaut!  A porpoise named Tuffy brought supplies from the surface to SEALAB II.

Click here to hear a phone call between Scott Carpenter and President Johnson. Carpenter was in a helium chamber while speaking… wait till you hear his voice.  Thank you NPR.

Carpenter named his flight Aurora 7.  The goal was to double check Glenn’s orbit.  Well, it definitely did the job.  The flight went very well.  It proved that we were ready to spend more time in space.  The biggest problem happened on re-entry.  There was a targeting error and the craft missed its landing spot by 250 nautical miles.

Carpenter took liquid into space to study it during weightlessness.  He also did some photographic experiments.  During Glenn’s flight, he said he saw “fireflies” outside of the capsule.  Well, Carpenter figured this mystery out on accident.  He bumped his hand against the capsule wall, knocking loose some ice crystals on the outside.  They turned out to be the “fireflies!”

Aurora 7 details:

May 24, 1962
Altitude: 166.8 by 99.9 statute miles
Orbits: 3
Period: 88min 32 seconds
Duration: 0 Days, 4 hours, 56 min, 5 seconds
Distance: 76,021 statute miles

The main goal of this mission was a continuation of the first manned mission.  How would man react to space?  Now, remember the changes in this flight?  Sure, the viewing window and the explosive hatch were the two changes.  Seventy bolts held the hatch in place.  This hatch became a problem.  The capsule sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after the bolts exploded prematurely.  NASA did not hold Grissom responsible for the exploding hatch.  He escaped safely.

Okay, let’s get on to some of the specifics of the flight.  The altitude was 118.3 miles.  The distance of the flight was 302 miles.  Liberty Bell 7 went into space on July 21, 1961.  It was rescheduled twice because of poor weather.  Grissom sat in the capsule for 3 hours and 22 minutes before launch.  NASA considered the mission successful.