US astronaut Scott Carpenter dies at 88 One of America's first astronauts, Scott Carpenter, has died after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. Commander Carpenter was one of the seven astronauts in the Mercury space programme and went into space in May 1962. On his return to Earth, he overshot his landing by nearly 480 kilometres (300 miles), causing an hour-long scare that he might not come back alive.