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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Gus Grissom.
(b) Scott Carpenter.
(c) Deke Slayton.
(d) John Glenn.

2. What is the name Yeager gives to his plane?
(a) Soaring Eagle.
(b) Rocketing Rickshaw.
(c) Guns of Death.
(d) Glamorous Glynnis.

3. When do the pilots wear their bridge coats?
(a) When it is raining.
(b) When they attend another pilot's funeral.
(c) When superior officers visit the base.
(d) When they are on patrol.

4. Which of the astronauts had separated from his wife, but reconciles with her after the psychological interviews at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base because he thinks it will improve his chances for astronaut selection?
(a) Gordon Cooper.
(b) John Glenn.
(c) Scott Carpenter.
(d) Deke Slayton.

5. The pilots hold Konakai seances. What is Konakai?
(a) The bar the pilots gathered at after work.
(b) A hotel near Cape Canaveral.
(c) A Japanese warrior tradition.
(d) The title of one of Glenn's philosophical books.

6. Which of the astronauts commands the least star power?
(a) Alan Shepard.
(b) Deke Slayton.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) Scott Carpenter.

7. Who is John Glenn's greatest ally in the debate over how the astronauts should conduct themselves?
(a) Scott Carpenter.
(b) Deke Slayton.
(c) Gordon Cooper.
(d) Gus Grissom.

8. How much time passes after the press conference before the astronauts are though of as national heroes?
(a) It happens overnight.
(b) They aren't considered of as national heroes until the first launch.
(c) It takes seven weeks.
(d) It takes three days.

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

10. What does the author liken the deck of a carrier to?
(a) A skillet.
(b) A highway.
(c) An ice rink.
(d) A thimble.

11. Why is Gus Grissom uncomfortable during the press conference?
(a) He hates telling total strangers how he feels.
(b) He hates being misquoted in the newspapers.
(c) He doesn't like people.
(d) He is camera shy.

12. How are wives notified if their husband is injured or killed during a test flight?
(a) The Navy sends an official letter to the wife.
(b) There is no official procedure for notifying the family of death.
(c) The Navy sends a man with official or moral authority to the house.
(d) Another one of the wives goes to the house to break the news.

13. Who runs the Fly Inn near Muroc Field?
(a) John Louis.
(b) Amelia Earhart.
(c) Marcus Graves.
(d) Pancho Barnes.

14. What is the unofficial tradition at Cape Canaveral?
(a) The pilots fly themselves to the Cape.
(b) No drinking is allowed.
(c) The pilots work around the clock so they can get back to Langley.
(d) No wives are allowed.

15. From the original volunteers for the program, how many are finally accepted as astronauts?
(a) 7.
(b) 10.
(c) 20.
(d) 12.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many planes does a pilot have to shoot down in combat to be considered an "ace"?

2. When a pilot is in the air and looking down at the ground, what does he most often feel?

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

4. What do Cape Canaveral and its surroundings remind the pilots of?

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

(see the answer keys)

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