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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. On what day does Shepard's Mercury capsule launch?

2. What does Kennedy insist on as NASA's next focus?

3. Which astronaut takes Slayton's place for the next flight?

4. What happens when the second Mercury flight splashes down?

5. When the capsule splashes down and Shepard is detaching all of the hoses so that he can leave the capsule, what sound does he hear?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. Why does Webb declare Cooper's flight to be the last of the Mercury program?

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

6. 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?

7. 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?

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

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

10. During the delay before the launch, Shepard found his biggest issue to be his need to use the restroom. However, no device for urination was designed into the capsule. Why not?

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

When we are first introduced to the pilots at Muroc Army Air Base, we meet a cocky group of young pilots that daily face danger and possible death from just doing their jobs.

a. List the dangers the pilots faced daily when conducting their test flights.

b. List off-duty dangers that resulted from their cocky and larger-than-life egos.

Essay Topic 3

When Project Mercury first began, the pilots were flying to Cape Canaveral for their training sessions. Later, as Project Mercury outgrew Cape Canaveral, the program was moved to Houston. Compare and contrast the astronauts' lifestyles in Cape Canaveral and Houston.

(see the answer keys)

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