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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 plane is being developed for the ARPS?

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

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

4. The launch was originally scheduled for May 2nd, but has to be delayed. What delays the launch?

5. How many orbits does Cooper complete?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. 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?

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

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

6. 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?

7. What irks the Original Seven wives about the Next Nine wives?

8. Why do neither John Glenn nor his wife, Annie, foresee the excitement that John's flight will cause?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

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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