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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why are the wives calling each other at the beginning of the story?
(a) They are planning a surprise party for the pilots.
(b) They are trying to figure out who's husband was killed.
(c) They are sharing news of a new baby.
(d) They are angry over a new testing policy for the pilots.

2. Why do the astronauts spend so much time in the procedures trainer?
(a) They simulate various flight scenarios and what to do in the case of emergency.
(b) They are just passing time until they can be cleared for take off.
(c) They are being photographed as part of the Life story.
(d) They are required to stay in the trainer until they successfully complete all of the tasks.

3. What do the engineers see as the most difficult, challenging, and pioneering part of the project?
(a) The flying capsule.
(b) The flight itself.
(c) The technology.
(d) The courage necessary to fly in the capsule.

4. While most fighter pilots revel in driving fast sports cars, John Glenn does not. What car does he drive?
(a) A Corvette.
(b) A Civic.
(c) A Buick.
(d) A Peugeot.

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

6. How many test pilots are in the original group in Jacksonville?
(a) 20.
(b) 8.
(c) 12.
(d) 35.

7. What is the most difficult routine in military flying?
(a) Carrier landings.
(b) Instrument-only flying.
(c) All-weather flying.
(d) Formation flying.

8. In what year does the story begin?
(a) 1967.
(b) 1955.
(c) 1960.
(d) 1948.

9. When Pete receives his top-secret orders, what is the project he is being asked to volunteer for?
(a) The X-1 Project.
(b) The Saturn Project.
(c) The Moon Project.
(d) The Mercury Project.

10. The first flight into space will turn one of the seven astronauts into what?
(a) The true brother at the top of the pyramid.
(b) The first pilot named to NASA's Board of Directors.
(c) The first death in the group.
(d) The one most often compared to a monkey.

11. What does "pushing the outside of the envelope" refer to?
(a) The new US Postal Service's mailing requirements.
(b) The limits of a particular aircraft's performance.
(c) The farthest distance from the base a plane can fly without refueling.
(d) The least amount of sleep a test pilot needs before being considered safe to fly.

12. Which magazine buys the exclusive rights to the astronauts' personal stories for $500,000?
(a) Newsweek.
(b) Time.
(c) Aviation Week & Space Technology.
(d) Life.

13. In the eyes of the engineers, what are the astronauts?
(a) Test subjects in an experiment.
(b) Essential to the success of the program.
(c) Partners in a great mission.
(d) National heroes.

14. Who does NASA hire to be the astronauts' press representative?
(a) Leo DeOrsey.
(b) John Mortey.
(c) Alfred Godfrey.
(d) Betty Grissom.

15. Which of the astronauts rises early each morning to do his roadwork where everyone can see him?
(a) Deke Slayton.
(b) John Glenn.
(c) Gus Grissom.
(d) Wally Schirra.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is housed at the Holloman Air Force Base?

2. What is the biggest challenge of landing on a carrier ship?

3. What are the pilots known by at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base?

4. What do the Project Mercury engineers think will be an easy task?

5. How does Ted Whelan die?

(see the answer keys)

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