Timothy R. Gaffney is a writer and author who was born in Dayton and has lived in the region most of his life. After earning a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University in Columbus in 1974, he worked for the Piqua Daily Call and the Dayton Daily News, where he was the aerospace and defense writer for twenty-one years. He is currently director of communications for the nonprofit National Aviation Heritage.
Scott Carpenter is one of the seven original "Right Stuff" astronauts. The fourth American in space, the second to orbit the Earth (John Glenn was the first), Carpenter went on after the Mercury Project to explore the oceans, commanding the underwater teams in the U.S. Navy's SeaLab II program. He lives in New York City and in Vail, Colorado.