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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. Shepard is strapped so tightly into the capsule that he can't feel the weightlessness he knows he is experiencing. What item floats in front of him in the capsule?

2. When the astronauts arrive in Houston, they are told that there will be a "little" cocktail party for them. Where is the cocktail party held?

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

4. What is the pervading feeling as the launch approaches?

5. In the wake of the successful Mercury flight, even Shorty Powers becomes famous. Who is Shorty Powers?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. For the third space flight, the astronaut's wife decided to write her own story for Life magazine. The magazine rents her a "safe house" to watch the launch from so no one knows where she and her children are. Why does this action upset Shorty Powers?

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

4. The seven original Mercury astronauts receive the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for outstanding professional performance in the conduct of test flight from the Society for Experimental Test Pilots. What does receiving this award mean to the astronauts?

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

6. 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?

7. When NASA grounds Deke Slayton, the press refers to him as being "keenly disappointed." How is Slayton actually feeling?

8. The Air Force has grand plans of their own for a space program. What do their plans include?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Once the astronauts were selected for Project Mercury, they were no longer military fighter pilots. They became sought-after public figures and national heroes.

a. How did this change their behavior patterns, if at all?

b. What impact did this change have on their families, if any?

Essay Topic 2

As NASA's space program becomes more developed, changes occur throughout the program.

a. Compare and contrast the selection process of the first group of astronauts with the group of astronauts selected by Yeager at the end of the book.

b. Compare and contrast the attitudes of the Original Seven with the attitudes of the Next Nine when they were selected for the astronaut program.

c. Compare and contrast the treatment of the Original Seven and the Next Nine when each group became astronauts.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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