Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit Earth, is recovering from a stroke.
Patty Carpenter tells the Vail Daily her 88-year-old husband had a stroke last week and has been moved to a rehabilitation center. She hopes he will be up and around in a few weeks.
Scott Carpenter, a longtime Vail resident, is remembered for his radio call "Godspeed, John Glenn," when Friendship 7 lifted off and Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962. Carpenter was Glenn's backup pilot for that flight.
Three months later, Carpenter became the second American in orbit.
Patty Carpenter says "Scott was John's backup. Now John is his backup," adding that the two astronauts talk to each other almost every day.
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