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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Gus want Betty to remember when she flies down to the Cape?
(a) His favorite candy--Snickers.
(b) His dress whites.
(c) His laundry.
(d) His flight uniform.

2. When communicating with mission control, what does Glenn refer to his capsule as?
(a) Friendship 7.
(b) Test Flight 84.
(c) Atlas 1.
(d) Mercury 3.

3. Why does the Air Force bring Chuck Yeager back to Edwards?
(a) To be the Director of Training Operations.
(b) To be the Director of Flight Operations.
(c) To fly the X-32.
(d) To qualify for the astronaut training program.

4. What is the concern that controllers have when preparing to bring Glenn back in through the atmosphere?
(a) That the parachute will not deploy.
(b) That the capsule will overshoot the planned splash zone.
(c) That the blood pressure monitor is malfunctioning.
(d) That the heat shields are loose.

5. As part of the Air Force's astronaut training program, what do the astronaut trainees attend in Washington?
(a) Charm school.
(b) Flight school.
(c) Operations training.
(d) Political classes.

6. What is Gus afraid of as he tries to swim to the helicopter's horse collar?
(a) Drowning.
(b) Blacking out.
(c) Sharks.
(d) The helicopter crashing.

7. How many orbits does Cooper complete?
(a) 34.
(b) 22.
(c) 12.
(d) 7.

8. Which astronaut is scheduled for the next space flight?
(a) Gus Grissom.
(b) Deke Slayton.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) Alan Shepard.

9. Why is Deke Slayton grounded?
(a) Poor hearing.
(b) Failing eyesight.
(c) A minor heart defect.
(d) Attitude problems.

10. As he sits in the capsule waiting to be launched into space, what is Shepard most afraid of?
(a) Screwing something up.
(b) Urinating in his pressurized suit.
(c) Being crushed by the g forces.
(d) Blowing up on the launch pad.

11. 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?
(a) Electrical circuits popping.
(b) The President's voice.
(c) Water seeping into the capsule.
(d) Cheers over his radio.

12. How does Slayton refer to NASA's decision in statements to the press?
(a) As an operational decision.
(b) As a huge mistake.
(c) As the right thing to do.
(d) As an understandable decision.

13. The first test flight using an Atlas rocket is unmanned. Who or what goes up in the second test flight?
(a) Alan Shepard.
(b) A dog.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) A chimpanzee.

14. The next manned space flight occurs in 1965 and the space program continues still today. Yet one thing was lost from the original Mercury program and still remains different today. What it is?
(a) Congress no longer has oversight of NASA's budget.
(b) NASA is not dedicated to the space program.
(c) Pilot training programs are no longer in demand.
(d) Astronauts are no longer seen as national heroes.

15. Who is in charge of crew selection?
(a) Deke Slayton.
(b) James Webb.
(c) John Glenn.
(d) John Kennedy.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which two astronauts are selected to be the backup astronauts?

2. After countless delays and several launch attempts, on what day is the manned flight finally launched?

3. Why is Alan Shepard grounded?

4. What happens in Washington at about the same time as Yeager is taxiing down the runway for his test flight?

5. What is given to Shepard by President Kennedy?

(see the answer keys)

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