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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 is in charge of crew selection?

2. 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?

3. Towards the end of his flight, Cooper starts experiencing problems. What is causing these problems?

4. 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?

5. How long is the second Russian cosmonaut in space for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. During an international space conference attended by the Russians to publicize their successes in space, what reassuring fact does the United States learn?

3. 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?

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

5. What does Shepard see as the main differences between the actual flight and the centrifuge's simulated flights?

6. 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?

7. Why does Walter Cronkite tell the American people that he is afraid that we may have lost an astronaut?

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

9. 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?

10. Why does the next group of astronauts selected contain fourteen trainees instead of the intended eleven trainees?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The two most prominent of the seven astronauts are arguably Alan Shepard and John Glenn. The book pits the two against each other in several ways.

a. Identify and explain the points-of-view of both Shepard and Glenn regarding the off-duty behaviors of the astronauts while at the Cape. Why did their views cause dissension among the remaining astronauts? What was the role of the Konakai Séance in the resolution of their dispute? How was their dispute resolved?

b. Shepard and Glenn are both competing to be selected as the first man into space. Compare how each man prepares for selection. Contrast their reactions when the selected individual is finally named. Compare their behaviors after the selection is made.

Essay Topic 3

The mindset of a fighter jock, whether testing airplanes or riding on rockets, is different from the mindset of the "average" person. With the danger inherent in their daily occupational duties, the fighter jock mindset probably has to be different to continue to go up and push the envelope.

a. Describe the coping mechanisms the pilots had in place to help them deal with the enormous stress of their jobs.

b. Discuss the coping mechanisms the pilots' wives had in place to deal with the enormous stress of their husbands' jobs.

(see the answer keys)

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