Rene Carpenter

Rene Carpenter is the wife of astronaut Scott Carpenter, a naval officer.

Personality
Rene is a forward-thinking woman who is outspoken and confident about voicing her opinions. She edited her high school paper and attended college, where she majored in history. She writes her own profile for Life Magazine and searches for other ways to make her voice heard. She becomes a columnist in The Waco Ledger News and calls Apollo 8 on national television. Rene campaigns with Annie and John Glenn and hopes to become John's press secretary, however he is injured and has to withdraw. She also campaigns with Bobby Kennedy and feels like she is helping to shape the world, but he gets assassinated, leading her to feel a little lost. She keeps going, though, and lands a spot on a television program where she is told she will be able to discuss women's issues, however, at the last minute, they change the segment into a cooking one. Rene talks a little about the recipe, but switches over to what she wanted to discuss in the first place, and talks about birth control and other real issues. Rene eventually gets her own nationally-syndicated talk show where she can speak her mind and be heard, at last.

Appearance
Rene is platinum blonde, and often wears bright colors. During the magazine photo shoot in the Pilot, a memo was sent to all of the Mercury wives to were pastel colored dresses. Instead, Rene wore a brightly patterned floral dress!

Relationships
At the beginning, Scott and Rene have a wonderful relationship. Although, like many other astronauts, Scott Carpenter seemed to have flirtations with Cape cookies, they seemed to have a steady marriage. However, as time goes on, they go separate ways and separate.