The Right Stuff

IV. The Lab Rat

Name the two highest ranking NASA engineers at the beginning of Project Mercury. Abe Silverstein and George Low

Project Mercury

“One, Project Mercury was a civilian program; two, NASA had not yet developed the rockets or the capsule to carry it out; three, it involved no flying…”

(page 64)

Who was chosen for the initial testing of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile at China Lake, California? He also tested the F-4H for the Navy at Edwards.

Wally Schirra

Wally Schirra’s wife, Jo, was the stepdaughter of Admiral James Holloway. What was he best known for?

The commander of the Pacific Theater in WWII

How many MiGs did Wally Schirra shoot down in Korea?2

How many combat missions did Wally Schirra go on in Korea?90

the standard E.S.A. charm

1950’s Princeton club code for “Eastern Socially Attractive”(page 61)

Of the sixty-nine test pilots that NASA briefed, how many volunteered to become astronauts?56

Atlas, Navaho, Little Joe, and Jupiter are the names of what?Rockets

How did Jean “Skip” Ziegler die?He died when an X-2 exploded while it was still attached to the B-50 that was supposed to launch it

Where was the home of Lovelace Clinic?Albuquerque

Who was the founder of Lovelace Clinic?W. Randolph Lovelace II

Randy Lovelace served along with which two men on the committee on “human factors” in space flight?

Scott Crossfield and Brigadier General Don Flickinger

Who was the chief of the medical staff at Lovelace?Dr. A. H. Schwichtenberg

What was the purpose of Lovelace?The candidates for astronaut would be given their physical testing at Lovelace.

Where did the candidates for astronaut go for psychological and stress testing?Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton

Pete Conrad was labeled what at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base?Number 7

At Lovelace, the candidates went through testing in groups of…? 6

At Wright-Patterson, the candidates went through testing in groups of… ?8

What does BOQ stand for?Bachelor Officers Quarters

Where did Scott Carpenter and his wife grow up?Boulder, Colorado

Scott Carpenter’s grandfather, on his mother’s side, owned and edited which newspaper?The Boulder Miner-Journal

How come Rene, Scott Carpenter’s wife, dropped out of college during her sophomore year?To marry Scott Carpenter

Who set the cross-country speed record, LA to New York, of three hours and twenty-three minutes in an F8U fighter plane in July 1957?

John Glenn