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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. On the space flight, what becomes a major issue for the astronaut?

3. Who is a part of the "new breed" of Air Force pilots?

4. 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?

5. As he sits in the capsule waiting to be launched into space, what is Shepard most afraid of?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When Bob Gilruth calls the astronauts together for an emergency meeting just before Christmas, what is the purpose of the meeting?

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

4. 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?

5. What does Grissom say to the second group of astronauts to keep them in their place?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

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)

This section contains 853 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample