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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. What is the AWC?
(a) All Weather Club.
(b) Amazing Women Club.
(c) Astronaut Waiting Club.
(d) Astronaut Wives Club.

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

3. The launch was originally scheduled for May 2nd, but has to be delayed. What delays the launch?
(a) Rocket problems.
(b) Communication problems.
(c) Weather problems.
(d) Fuel problems.

4. John Glenn's flight and his taking on "the mighty Soviet Integral" causes comparisons with what Biblical story?
(a) Cain and Abel.
(b) Samson and Delilah.
(c) David and Goliath.
(d) Sodom and Gomorrah.

5. The first "manned" space flight by Russia does not have a man aboard. What living thing do the Russians send into space?
(a) A chimpanzee.
(b) A cat.
(c) A dog.
(d) A hamster.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In Chapter 14, Deke Slayton is promoted within NASA. What is Deke Slayton's new title?

3. As he sits in the capsule waiting to be launched into space, what is Shepard most afraid of?

4. As she waits for her husband to be launched into space, what is Louise Shepard doing?

5. At the end of the book, what major political change occurs?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why is Betty Grissom so upset at the treatment of Gus after his flight?

4. When urination had been a problem in the procedures trainer, what had some of the astronauts done out of necessity and what are the dangers involved in a real-world situation?

5. What is the general assumption regarding why the capsule's hatch blew before the helicopter hooks on?

6. What worries the astronauts the most about Project Mercury potentially losing funding?

7. In Chapter 15, what does John Glenn argue with James Webb about?

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

9. Why do neither John Glenn nor his wife, Annie, foresee the excitement that John's flight will cause?

10. Why does NASA select the primary pilot and two backups with a few weeks to go before the launch instead of selecting the primary pilot the day before the launch as is originally planned?

(see the answer keys)

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