Free The Eagle Has Landed: The Story of Apollo 11 by Jeffrey Smith Page A

spacecraft. While at the helm, Carpenter burned fuel much faster than anticipated, and at the time of re-entry, failed to fire the retrorockets at the appropriate time, resulting in splash down 250 miles outside the target zone. Anxious NASA officials and television watchers waited for an hour, until Navy rescuers located the space capsule. Carpenter was eventually found floating in a life raft, tethered to Aurora 7, the latter of which was on the verge of sinking.
    During his post-flight press conference, Carpenter made the mistake of embarrassing NASA by calling attention to the lengthy period of time it took rescuers to locate and recover the capsule: “I didn’t know where I was, and they didn’t either.” NASA officials were already frustrated that Carpenter had wasted fuel and misjudged re-entry, leading Launch Control Coordinator Christopher Craft to grouse: “That son of a bitch will never fly for me again!” Craft’s angry declaration proved prescient; Carpenter never again flew in space.
    Five months later, Sigma 7 was launched into orbit. Wally Schirra executed 6 full orbits, twice as many as Scott Carpenter, yet consumed only half as much fuel as his predecessor. Schirra also splashed down right on target, just 4.5 miles from the rescue aircraft carrier—NASA officials described it as a “textbook flight.”
    On May 15, 1963, Faith 7, piloted by Gordon Cooper, was launched into orbit. Cooper established a new record for space travel—22 orbits, over the course of 34 hours and 22 minutes, while traveling 546,167 miles. He also became the first astronaut to fall asleep while in orbit. Faith 7 was equipped with a television camera, which transmitted the first live orbital shots to viewers below. When the spacecraft’s automatic control system malfunctioned, Cooper had to use the control stick to keep the ship steady, while manually firing the retrorockets to enable re-entry. Cooper’s cool demeanor and piloting skills allowed him to avert disaster.
    As Project Mercury wound down, NASA was already planning for the next phase of space exploration. Accordingly, 9 new astronauts were recruited in 1962, followed by 14 more in 1963.
    While the general public’s attention was riveted on Project Mercury, NASA’s highly successful unmanned space exploration program moved forward. Launched on August 7, 1959, Explorer 6 became the first spacecraft to photograph Earth from orbit. Pioneer 5, launched on March 11, 1960, entered into orbit around the Sun, between Earth and Venus, and became the first spacecraft to map magnetic fields between the two planets.
    Launched April 1, 1960, Tiros I, the world’s first weather satellite, was equipped with infrared observation technology and television cameras. That same month, the first global navigation satellite, Transit 1B, was launched into orbit, allowing American ships at sea to calculate their positions with unprecedented precision. Four and a half months later, the world’s first experimental communications satellite, Echo I, began circling the Earth. Referred to as a passive communications satellite, Echo I functioned as a reflector, but not a transmitter; signals could only be sent to it, and “bounced back” to Earth.
    With its successful unmanned space flight program and the introduction of innovative technology, America was becoming more than competitive in the Space Race. By October of 1960, the U.S. had successfully launched 26 satellites into orbit. Moreover, NASA’s success rate had dramatically improved; in 1958, all 4 launches failed, 9 of 14 were successful in 1960, and 12 of 17 made it into orbit in 1961.
    Space intelligence-gathering took on a new meaning in the early 1960s, when CIA operatives “kidnapped” a Soviet Luna probe, while the spacecraft was being displayed at a trade fair in Mexico. The American spies kept the probe overnight, climbing inside the vehicle, thoroughly photographing it, and copying down serial numbers from its key