The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

Principal Active Launch Complexes
Space Launch Complex Launch Vehicle
17A, 17B Delta
36A, 36B Atlas
39A, 39B Space Shuttle
40, 41 Titan
Canaveral Air Force Station is run by the adjoining
Patrick Air Force Base.
Cape Kennedy
The name by which Cape Canaveral was known
between 1963 and 1973. President Lyndon Johnson
authorized the change in November 1963 following the
assassination of President Kennedy. At the request of
Floridians, the Cape’s original name was restored a
decade later, although NASA’s facility continues to be
known as the Kennedy Space Center.
capsule
A sealed, pressurized cabin with a habitable environment,
usually for containing a man or an animal for
extremely high-altitude flights, orbital spaceflight, or
emergency escape.
captive test
A static or hold-down test of a rocket engine, motor, or
stage, as distinct from a flight test. It is also known as a
captive firing.
Carr, Gerald P. 67
capture
The process in which a spacecraft comes under the influence
of a celestial body’s gravity.
cardiovascular deconditioning
A state in which the cardiovascular system does not work
as efficiently as it can, usually caused by a change of environment,
such as long periods of bed rest or space travel.
Carpenter, Malcolm Scott (1925–)
One of the Mercury Seven astronauts. Carpenter was
the backup pilot for America’s first manned orbital
spaceflight and became the second American to go into
orbit when, on May 24, 1962, he piloted his Aurora 7
capsule three times around the world. Subsequently,
while on leave of absence from NASA, he became an
aquanaut team leader in the Navy’s Man-in-the-Sea Project,
spending 30 days on the ocean floor as part of the
Sealab II program. Upon returning to his NASA duties
as executive assistant to the director of the Manned
Space Flight Center, Carpenter participated in the
design of the Apollo Lunar Module and in underwater
extravehicular activity crew training. In 1967, he rejoined
the Navy’s Deep Sea Submergence Systems Project as
director of aquanaut operations during the Sealab III
experiment. Carpenter is an active author, public
speaker, and consultant on ocean and space technology
programs. 41
Carr, Gerald P. (1932–)
An American astronaut selected by NASA in April 1966.
Carr served as a member of the astronaut support crews
Cape Canaveral An aerial
view of “Missile Row.” NASA