Launch of the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on 24th May 1962. The mission was piloted by Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), a naval officer, test pilot, aeronautical engineer and astronaut. This was the second American mission to put a human in Earth orbit. It was a success, with Carpenter completing three Earth orbits in five hours in the Mercury capsule Aurora 7. However, a targeting mishap during re-entry took the spacecraft about 400 kilometres off course, delaying recovery of Carpenter and the craft.