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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the pervading feeling as the launch approaches?
(a) The Russians already beat us. Why bother?
(b) This time it will work.
(c) We can do this.
(d) Our boys always botch it.

2. How does the author both begin and end the Epilogue?
(a) The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
(b) To dream at all is to dream big.
(c) To everything there is a season.
(d) Every race has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

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 heat shields are loose.
(c) That the parachute will not deploy.
(d) That the blood pressure monitor is malfunctioning.

4. On what day does Shepard's Mercury capsule launch?
(a) May 12.
(b) May 25.
(c) May 5.
(d) May 10.

5. 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) Alan Shepard.
(d) A dog.

6. Why does the Air Force bring Chuck Yeager back to Edwards?
(a) To qualify for the astronaut training program.
(b) To be the Director of Training Operations.
(c) To fly the X-32.
(d) To be the Director of Flight Operations.

7. How many pilots are selected to comprise the second group of astronauts for the new moon program?
(a) 7.
(b) 15.
(c) 9.
(d) 4.

8. Why does Shepard see the Earth through the periscope in black and white?
(a) There is no color in space.
(b) The window had a built-in screen.
(c) He forgets to remove the gray filter before the launch.
(d) It's hard to detect color over vast distances.

9. On John Glenn's 40th birthday, who comes to Glenn's birthday dinner?
(a) Alan and Louise Shepard.
(b) Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson.
(c) John and Jackie Kennedy.
(d) Gus and Betty Grissom.

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

11. Sixteen days after Grissom's flight, the Russians launch another cosmonaut into space. How many times does the cosmonaut orbit the Earth before landing?
(a) 4.
(b) 2.
(c) 17.
(d) 10.

12. Who is James Webb?
(a) The new flight control commander appointed by NASA.
(b) The new administrator of NASA appointed by the Kennedy administration.
(c) The veterinarian called in to dismantle the chimpanzee colony.
(d) The medical officer with the authority to ground Shepard if it becomes medically necessary.

13. Who is a part of the "new breed" of Air Force pilots?
(a) Chuck Yeager.
(b) Neil Armstrong.
(c) Joe Walker.
(d) James Webb.

14. On the space flight, what becomes a major issue for the astronaut?
(a) Fly-by-wire operations.
(b) Too many experiments.
(c) Low fuel levels.
(d) Loose heat shields.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens when the second Mercury flight splashes down?

2. What happens in Washington at about the same time as Yeager is taxiing down the runway for his test flight?

3. When communicating with mission control, what does Glenn refer to his capsule as?

4. How far away from the intended splash zone does the capsule land?

5. What is President Kennedy obsessed with?

(see the answer keys)

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