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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the book begins, where is the Naval Air Station that Pete Conrad is stationed at?
(a) Texas.
(b) California.
(c) Florida.
(d) Nevada.

2. What is the nickname given to Project Mercury by the top pilots at the base?
(a) The Flying Chimpanzees.
(b) Corpses in a Capsule.
(c) Spam in a Can.
(d) Monkeys in Space.

3. 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.

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

5. How much is NASA's press representative paid per year?
(a) $125,000.
(b) $37,500.
(c) $50,000.
(d) $0.

Short Answer Questions

1. What recent invention makes Program Mercury possible at all?

2. Who originally pilots the X-1 aircraft?

3. What is Gus Grissom awarded for his actions during combat in Korea?

4. Who does NASA hire to be the astronauts' press representative?

5. Which of the astronauts rises early each morning to do his roadwork where everyone can see him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the astronauts not refer to themselves or the other astronauts as "astronauts"?

2. Jane Conrad sees a real man going to her front door and realizes it wasn't one of her hallucinations. Who is the man and why is he there?

3. Why does Gus Grissom find the selection of Scott Carpenter as an astronaut odd?

4. Name two reasons that fighter pilots hate to declare an emergency.

5. What is the goal of the pilots in Project Mercury, which is the same goal in every new and important flight project?

6. Why is the book titled "The Right Stuff"?

7. Why do the pilots come to hate Lovelace?

8. Contrast flight training with astronaut training.

9. As the number of killed pilots rises, how does that affect the mood of Pete Conrad?

10. What are John Glenn and Alan Shepard in serious disagreement about?

(see the answer keys)

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