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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. After the Russian flight, NASA scrubbed the remainder of the planned Mercury flights using Redstone rockets. What is the next flight to attempt?
(a) A moon landing.
(b) Orbital flight.
(c) A rocket launch with a plane landing.
(d) Dropping bombs from space.

2. When the men return from their trip to the White House, what question is on the mind of each of their wives?
(a) What did the White House serve for dinner?
(b) Is President Kennedy as dreamy as he looks on television?
(c) How is the White House decorated?
(d) What is Jackie like?

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How many days before the planned Mercury launch do the Russians put a man into space?

2. Who is Bob Gilruth?

3. When accompanying Glenn on his travels, what does Pete Conrad find himself doing?

4. How does the author both begin and end the Epilogue?

5. What plane is being developed for the ARPS?

Short Essay Questions

1. The wives had barely started getting settled into their new homes in Houston when something extraordinary starts happening. What is it?

2. What does Grissom say to the second group of astronauts to keep them in their place?

3. What reaction does the American public have to the chimpanzee's flight?

4. What becomes an immutable part of the flight day drill for the astronaut's wife?

5. Why does Grissom's suit not keep him buoyant when he is awaiting rescue in the ocean?

6. Why is there a certain danger in scrapping the Redstone rocket in favor of the Atlas rockets?

7. When Bob Gilruth calls the astronauts together for an emergency meeting just before Christmas, what is the purpose of the meeting?

8. Why does Walter Cronkite tell the American people that he is afraid that we may have lost an astronaut?

9. The evening before the second Mercury flight, Joe Walker runs into Gus Grissom. Walker tries to get Grissom's goat by insisting that the X-15 program will soon pass the Mercury program and that he and the other Edwards pilots are the "real" pilots. Why do these remarks not bother Grissom at all?

10. What is the effect on Shepard of having so many pre-flight simulations?

(see the answer keys)

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