RIP, Scott Carpenter (1925-2103[*]).

Sad news: my condolences to his family and loved ones.

Malcolm Scott Carpenter, one of the original seven Mercury astronauts who was forced to take manual control of his Aurora 7 capsule after running low on fuel in one of the scarier moments of the early space program, died early Thursday. He was 88.

As many, many people have noted: it takes a certain type of person to calmly sit on top of a pile of explosives and trust that the person who is about to light the match has done everything right.

Moe Lane

[*Clearly wishful thinking on my part.)