View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 6, "On the Balcony".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Muroc Army Air Base is renamed in 1948. What is its new name?
(a) Cape Canaveral.
(b) Edwards Air Force Base.
(c) George Air Force Base.
(d) Kennedy Army Air Base.

2. Who is the biggest practical joker among the volunteers?
(a) Wally Schirra.
(b) Alan Shepard.
(c) Gus Grissom.
(d) Pete Conrad.

3. What is the biggest challenge of landing on a carrier ship?
(a) Because the grey of the ship makes it hard to spot in the ocean.
(b) Because the plane has to lose altitude so quickly.
(c) Because the ship is pitching and rolling in the sea.
(d) Because carrier ship landings are never discussed before attempting.

4. What is the one sound that test pilots' wives are most afraid of?
(a) The sound of a plane's engine.
(b) The church bells.
(c) The door bell.
(d) The telephone.

5. Which of the astronauts does not live with his family on or near the base, but houses his family 120 miles away from the base and lives in the base's Bachelor Quarters?
(a) Deke Slayton.
(b) Scott Carpenter.
(c) Gus Grissom.
(d) John Glenn.

Short Answer Questions

1. What feature makes Pete Conrad different from a lot of other pilots?

2. What is the subject of the first press conference question?

3. What is the Navy-calculated probability that a career Navy pilot will die in an aircraft accident?

4. Which magazine buys the exclusive rights to the astronauts' personal stories for $500,000?

5. What does the author liken the deck of a carrier to?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 289 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample