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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the pilots at Edwards finally expect the public to realize based on the chimpanzee's successful flight?
(a) That any trained animal can pilot the capsule and that the pilots at Edwards are the real pilots.
(b) That only a real, trained pilot is capable of flying the Mercury capsule.
(c) That the dream of space travel is finally a reality.
(d) That the ape is being considered for a medal of courage.

2. What is the new moon program called?
(a) Mercury 2.
(b) Project B.
(c) Apollo.
(d) Luna.

3. Which of the astronauts place a sign inside the capsule reading "No handball playing in this area" to help keep Shepard relaxed and loose?
(a) Gus Grissom.
(b) Gordon Cooper.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) Deke Slayton.

4. Shepard is strapped so tightly into the capsule that he can't feel the weightlessness he knows he is experiencing. What item floats in front of him in the capsule?
(a) An oxygen hose.
(b) A replacement battery.
(c) A rivet.
(d) A washer.

5. Which two astronauts are selected to be the backup astronauts?
(a) John Glenn and Gus Grissom.
(b) Wally Schirra and John Glenn.
(c) Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
(d) Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom.

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

7. How long is Cooper's flight?
(a) 34 hours.
(b) 12 hours.
(c) 18 hours.
(d) 48 hours.

8. At the end of the book, what major political change occurs?
(a) The US and the Soviets stop competing in space.
(b) The Vietnam War begins.
(c) Iraq acquires nuclear capabilities.
(d) The Korean Conflict ends.

9. How long is the launch delayed?
(a) Forty minutes.
(b) Twenty minutes.
(c) Four hours.
(d) Seventeen hours.

10. Why does Joe Walker decide not to apply for the astronaut-training program?
(a) He is medically grounded.
(b) He is afraid of being turned down.
(c) He likes being an instructor.
(d) He is 42.

11. After countless delays and several launch attempts, on what day is the manned flight finally launched?
(a) January 1, 1963.
(b) April 1, 1962.
(c) January 23, 1062.
(d) February 20, 1962.

12. Which astronaut takes Slayton's place for the next flight?
(a) Wally Schirra.
(b) Scott Carpenter.
(c) Gordon Cooper.
(d) Alan Shepard.

13. When the capsule splashes down and Shepard is detaching all of the hoses so that he can leave the capsule, what sound does he hear?
(a) Cheers over his radio.
(b) Electrical circuits popping.
(c) Water seeping into the capsule.
(d) The President's voice.

14. Why does the unmanned flight receive very little public attention?
(a) The Beatles are making their first US tour.
(b) The Russians beat the Americans to the punch again.
(c) The public doesn't believe NASA can pull it off.
(d) The public is tired of test flights.

15. How many orbits does Cooper complete?
(a) 7.
(b) 34.
(c) 12.
(d) 22.

Short Answer Questions

1. What plane is being developed for the ARPS?

2. Why does the Air Force bring Chuck Yeager back to Edwards?

3. Which astronaut is scheduled for the next space flight?

4. The launch was originally scheduled for May 2nd, but has to be delayed. What delays the launch?

5. Sixteen days after Grissom's flight, the Russians launch another cosmonaut into space. How many times does the cosmonaut orbit the Earth before landing?

(see the answer keys)

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