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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 12, "The Tears".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The first test flight using an Atlas rocket is unmanned. Who or what goes up in the second test flight?
(a) John Glenn.
(b) A chimpanzee.
(c) A dog.
(d) Alan Shepard.

2. Which pilot marches into General Schwichenberg's office, throws an enema bag on his desk, and refuses to give himself any more enemas?
(a) Wally Schirra.
(b) Alan Shepard.
(c) Pete Conrad.
(d) Jim Lovell.

3. What is the concern that controllers have when preparing to bring Glenn back in through the atmosphere?
(a) That the capsule will overshoot the planned splash zone.
(b) That the parachute will not deploy.
(c) That the blood pressure monitor is malfunctioning.
(d) That the heat shields are loose.

4. What recent invention makes Program Mercury possible at all?
(a) The high-carbon fuel.
(b) The high-speed, electronic computer.
(c) The rocket propulsion system.
(d) The launch software.

5. What political event leads to Project Mercury being thought of, for the first time, as potentially expendable?
(a) The launch of another Sputnik satellite.
(b) The establishment of political special interest groups.
(c) The public relations nightmare created by the Edwards' pilots.
(d) The election of John F. Kennedy as the country's new President.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many fighter jocks volunteer for the top-secret civilian program?

2. Who is Bob White?

3. Why does the unmanned flight receive very little public attention?

4. What do the engineers see as the most difficult, challenging, and pioneering part of the project?

5. Who is the scheduled backup astronaut for the first manned orbital flight?

(see the answer key)

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