Aww crap - RIP Scott Carpenter

UPDATE BELOW From collectSpace:

Scott Carpenter, astronaut-aquanaut, dies, was second American in orbit
October 10, 2013 � Godspeed, Scott Carpenter.

The United States' fourth astronaut to fly in space and the second to orbit the Earth, Carpenter, 88, died on Thursday (Oct. 10) after suffering a recent stroke.

The original Mercury 7 astronaut was being cared for at a hospice center in Denver when he passed. Carpenter was initially expected to make a full recovery from the stroke, but his condition worsened this week, sources close to his family shared.

Carpenter passed at 5:30 a.m. MDT (7:30 a.m. EDT; 1130 GMT) with his wife Patty at his side, his family confirmed to collectSPACE.

"Today, the world mourns the passing of Scott Carpenter," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "As one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, he was in the first vanguard of our space program � the pioneers who set the tone for our nation's pioneering efforts beyond Earth."

A bit more:

Carpenter never flew in space again, the result of an injury to his left arm sustained in a motorcycle accident in 1964. He did however, become an aquanaut, spending a record 30 days on the ocean floor aboard the Navy's SEALAB II, an experimental habitat located off the coast of California.

Besides his own space and sea adventures, Carpenter is popularly remembered for his radio call "Godspeed, John Glenn," which heralded his fellow Mercury astronaut's lift off to become the first American in orbit on Feb. 20, 1962. With Carpenter's passing, Glenn is the last of the Mercury 7 astronauts alive today.

I had the pleasure of meeting Scott in the mid 60's, a few years after his flight. Got his autograph which I had pinned above my bed through high-school. His becoming an aquanaut made him that much more of a role model to me as I wanted to study Marine Biology and Physical Oceanography and did in fact go to Boston University for those subjects. We are losing a generation of heroes -- who replaces them? We no longer do great things. UPDATE: Just checked and he does have a personal website at ScottCarpenter It has a lot of background detail on his work with SeaLab as well as a lot of personal and biographical information. Worth a visit -- we do not make them like that anymore.