Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) marked the United States' second attempt to place an astronaut into orbit. Launched on May 24, 1962, it completed three orbits around the Earth and was piloted by astronaut Scott Carpenter. The Mercury spacecraft, named Aurora 7, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using an Atlas LV-3B rocket. After 4 hours and 39 minutes in flight, the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere but overshot the intended landing area by 250 nautical miles.
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| A Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7) cover from "SpaceCraft," postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on May 24, 1962, and signed by Scott Carpenter. |
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| Photo: The "Aurora 7" capsule positioned on top of an Atlas rocket. |
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| Photo: Scott Carpenter receives a final inspection from a suit technician as he gets ready for the spaceflight. |
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| "A cover featuring a stamped "Atlantic Missile Range Cape Canaveral Florida" along with a NASA cachet, signed by Scott Carpenter, and postmarked on May 24, 1962. |
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| Photo: Scott Carpenter exiting the transfer van as he heads toward the launch pad. |
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| Cover featuring a Swanson rubber-stamped cachet, signed by Scott Carpenter, Hermann Oberth, and Wernher von Braun. This cover is postmarked at Port Canaveral on the launch day of May 24, 1962. |
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| Photo: This image, captured by Carpenter, shows the booster rocket detaching from his spacecraft. |
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| Photo: Gatha F. Cottee, a NASA official, monitors the orbital flight path of Aurora 7 on a map at the press site in Cape Canaveral. |
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| A "Sokolsky" illustrated cover, postmarked at Port Canaveral on the launch day of May 24, 1962. Scott Carpenter piloted the Aurora 7 spacecraft, completing three orbits around the Earth. The cover contains a typographical error, stating "Two" orbits instead of the correct "Three". |
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| Photo: The tethered balloon experiment aimed to measure atmospheric drag variations between perigee (100 miles) and apogee (160 miles) in orbit, while also evaluating the visibility effectiveness of different colors in space at both short and long distances. Unfortunately, the balloon failed to inflate properly, leading to the collection of no useful data. |
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| Point Arguello in California established contact with Carpenter as Aurora 7 flew over the west coast of the United States. The facility monitored the spacecraft during and after retrofire. However, a delay in firing the retro-rocket led to the spacecraft overshooting its intended landing location. |
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| Photo: A map indicating the landing location of Scott Carpenter following his orbital flight. |
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| Photo: The aircraft carrier Intrepid is depicted en route to the recovery site, where its helicopter was dispatched to pick up Scott Carpenter after his capsule missed the designated landing area. |
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| The USS Intrepid served as the primary recovery ship for MA-7. The cover displayed above bears the signatures of both Scott Carpenter and the ship's Commanding Officer, J. L. Abbot, Jr. |
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| Photo: Carpenter and a paramedic are seen on a life raft, awaiting recovery in the Atlantic Ocean. |
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| Photo: After spending three hours in the Atlantic, Carpenter is hoisted from the life raft. He briefly naps on the rescue helicopter while being transported to the USS Intrepid. |
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| A cover featuring brief details of the helicopter recovery, signed by Commander John M "Wondy" Wondergem, the commander of Helicopter Squadron HS-3 in the Atlantic Fleet. This cover is postmarked on May 24, 1962. |
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| Photo: Captain John M "Wondy" Wondergem smiles as he shares a photo of the helicopter he piloted during the 1962 recovery of astronaut Scott Carpenter. Recovery missions at that time were less precise, making it initially challenging to locate Scott Carpenter. |
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| Photo: Carpenter walks across the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid after being rescued from the sea, accompanied by an Air Force doctor. |
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| The USS John R. Pierce was the ship responsible for recovering the Aurora 7 capsule, successfully retrieving it around 6 hours and 34 minutes after its splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. The two covers above postmarked on May 24, 1962, from USS John R. Pierce. The bottom cover is signed by Scott Carpenter. |
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| Photo: Scott Carpenter responds to questions during a news conference on May 27, 1962. |
