Evening star., 1962-05-28
Carpenter Says He Was Just Busy,
Not Confused, Fotigued on Lost Orbit
BY a Star Staff Writer

By Star staff Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla,
May 28.-Astronaut Scott Car
Henter says he was neither an
exhausted man nor a confused
one on his third and final orbit
last Thursday-just a man with
his hands full.
All at the same time in those
crucial minutes around 2 pm.
Thursday, he said yesterday, he
was trying to:
/. Run through a prior to-
rs-entry checklist.
2. Observe AStronaut John
0lenn'S "cosmic fireflies."
3. Take pictures out Of his
capsules picture window.
4. Align the capsule for
proper re-entry.
5. Try to figure out what was
wrong with his steering system.
6. Stow all the loose euip-
rnent that had been used in the
"weightless" portion of his
flight.
"I understand a report came
from Hawaii ;of a tired and
confused astronaut," he told a
news conference. This was not
true. I was preoccupied."
Not Complaining
The slim, 37-year-old Naval
likutenant commander did not
complain Of having too much
I'd do. SIT is good to keep the
astronaut busy" he said later.
But the picture he painted was
CLEARLY that Of q man with six
problems to handle and only
two hands to tackle them with.
Comdr. Carpenter, a less ebul-
lient type than Col. Glenn who
preceded him into space by
three months, answered news
mems questions for almost an
hour after summarizing his
Thursday adventure.
He landed at Patrick Air
Force Base, Fla.-about IL miles
south of here, a few hours be-
fore the conference began at
$50 pm. In the interim he was
paraded through the streets of
Cocoa Beach, town nearest the
Cape, and was awarded the
SPACE Agency's Distinguished
Service Medal.
Comedies Error
Comdr. Carpenter took the
blame for the fact that his
CAPSULE was low on fuel when
the time came to re-enter the
atmosphere, and empty of fuel
before landing. He chalked the
former up to impatience and
the latter to pilot error.
On the first orbit, Comdr.
Carpenter explained, he was so
arHious to Gee things that he
whipped his capsule around in
ALI sorts of attitudes. Fuel
consumption was not the fault
offthe capsule; only the fault
ofsan impatient man." he said.
The rapid use of fuel between
the start of re-entry and land
ing was due to the fact that he
had both automatic and man.
ual steering systems going and
was needlessly using fuel
Though both.
The astronaut backed off
from his earlier categorical in
sistence that he had the cap
sule positioned right before re-
entry. However, he did not ad-
NIT that he-rather than sys-
TENS in the spacecraft was al
fault for a 250-mile overshoot
in Handing.
Insure Of Cause
As to what caused the over
shoot, a"It would be due to q
number of things - attitude
Impulse Of the rockets; I don't
know why"
latitude, or the rockets po-
Bition in space, was regulated
at sre-entry on this flight by
the pilot. Adeficfency in power
delivered by showdown rockets
would have had the same effect
In making the capsule over
shoot if 1t were positioned cor.
rectly0
On a second occasion in the
conference, Comdr. Carpenter
acknowledged his responsibility
for a shortage of fuel. "I hac
sufficient fuel" he said. "l
managed it improperly"
Asked what he would do diff.
ferently on another flight. HI
answered, 81 would do nothing
differently" Then. on clari-
fication of the question, h
replied. 81 would not plan j
differently; I would try to exc
cute 1t differently"
i Almost casually in the cours'
Of the conference, the astro
naut mentioned a seeming