Image: Carpenter's Flight
![Image Credit: NASA Image: Carpenter's Flight](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2012/imagecarpent.jpg)
50 years ago today, Scott Carpenter flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962.
He piloted his Aurora 7 spacecraft through three revolutions of the earth.
In this photo, taken on May 24, 1962, Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter looks into his Mercury-Atlas 7 spacecraft, the Aurora 7, before being inserted to begin the launch.
Provided by JPL/NASA