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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. What feature makes Pete Conrad different from a lot of other pilots?

2. How many planes does a pilot have to shoot down in combat to be considered an "ace"?

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

4. How many fighter jocks volunteer for the top-secret civilian program?

5. What state is Chuck Yeager from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Chuck Yeager become convinced of as he pilots the X-1 at near-Mach I speeds?

2. Contrast flight training with astronaut training.

3. Where is Muroc Field and what is is the significance of the project taking place there?

4. 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?

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

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

7. Why do Chuck Yeager's comments in Phoenix almost set off a national scandal? What happens to avoid the scandal?

8. 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?

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

10. What is the begrudging consensus finally reached from the Konakai Séance regarding their "off hours" behavior?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, the "pyramid" is discussed.

a. Define what the "pyramid" and how each group (Edwards' pilots vs. Mercury's astronauts) ranked on the period before Mercury is underway, during Project Mercury, and at the conclusion of the Project.

b. Identify and discuss three events that occur (both at Edwards and at NASA) to change and redefine the perception of both the pilots and the astronauts.

Essay Topic 2

Identify and discuss the main political events that hastened the creation of Project Mercury.

a. What specifically occurred to speed up NASA's time frame for space travel?

b. What perceived threats resulted from these events?

c. How did the creation of Project Mercury address these perceived threats?

Essay Topic 3

During the period in which Project Mercury was being launched, the Cold War was in full swing.

a. How did the Cold War affect Project Mercury and its projected time frame?

b. How did the Soviet's successes in space affect and/or change NASA's projects?

c. What fears did the Soviet successes raise?

(see the answer keys)

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