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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 are Gordon Cooper's and Deke Slayton's roles during the launch?

2. After being grounded, what is Deke Slayton's new role in NASA?

3. What kind of rocket launches the first Mercury capsule?

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

5. Who is James Webb?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What becomes an immutable part of the flight day drill for the astronaut's wife?

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

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

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

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

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

10. Why is there a certain danger in scrapping the Redstone rocket in favor of the Atlas rockets?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Original Seven astronauts underwent medical and psychological testing as part of their selection process.

a. Describe the three tests conducted on the astronauts at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. What information were the psychologists trying to gain from these tests?

b. Why did Pete Conrad rebel as a result of all of the tests? Give one example of his rebellious streak from the Lovelace tests. Give one example of his rebellious streak from the Wright-Patterson tests.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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