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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who runs the Fly Inn near Muroc Field?

2. Why does Janet Conrad support her husband's decision to join the astronaut program?

3. What political event leads to Project Mercury being thought of, for the first time, as potentially expendable?

4. Muroc Army Air Base is renamed in 1948. What is its new name?

5. When a pilot is in the air and looking down at the ground, what does he most often feel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do many pilots choose to try to pilot a wounded aircraft to the ground rather than eject?

2. NASA originally needs six astronauts for the Mercury program, but is going to take twelve astronauts. Why?

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

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

5. Contrast flight training with astronaut training.

6. In detailing the experiences of the astronauts, the author states that "everywhere they went in their travels people stopped what they were doing and gave them a certain look of awe and sympathy." Awe is easily understood. Why do they look at them with sympathy?

7. Describe Jane Conrad's nightmares and hallucinations?

8. The morning after the press conference, the newspapers are full of stories about the astronauts. What do the stories highlight?

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

10. The training program for the chimpanzees is based on operant conditioning. Describe what that means for the chimpanzees.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Glenn finally goes up, his flight is remarkably different from Shepard's flight, as is the resulting celebration upon Glenn's safe return.

a. List three perks Shepard received after his first flight.

b. List three perks Glenn received after his first flight.

c. How does the success of Glenn's flight change their relationship?

Essay Topic 2

The book is entitled "The Right Stuff".

a. In your own words, describe what is meant by the right stuff.

b. How did the pilots know if they (or the other pilots around them) had "it" or not?

c. Are there various levels of having "it"? Support your answer with an example from the book.

Essay Topic 3

The book first introduces us to some of the Mercury astronauts during their test flying days and, by the astronaut selection process, we have met all seven of the men who will be selected for Project Mercury. By the end of the book, we have seen these men over three to four years.

a. Compare and contrast the attitudes of the Original Seven astronauts when they first entered the training program to their attitudes towards the conclusion of the Mercury program. How did their success affect the systems in place at NASA?

b. How did the success of the Mercury program change these men, if at all? Pick two of the seven and support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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