October Sky Study Guide – Flashcards

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Auk I
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1 ¼ aluminum tubing, soldered washer on end, woodened bullet shape nose cone, had black powder/ stamp glue mix, raised 6ft and made a "poot" sound and fell into a cloud of gray smoke. *first to fly!!!*
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Auk II
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Steel body with welded steel bar stock, sat spewing sparks for a minute, took off 10ft and bounced off a tree, then went up 20ft and "dropped like a dead bird"
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Auk III
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built like Auk II and twirled up, twanged off a maple tree, and thudded into side of the mountain
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Auk IV
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"whoosh" down the mountain, barely missed the mine, landed in coal dust beside the railroad track and took a chunk out of a brick building
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Auk V
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Finely ground black powdered mix, went 50ft up and aimed for bystanders
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Auk VI
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louder hiss with cured black powdered mix, went "twice as high as the mountains"
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Auk VII
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50ft up, took a horseshoe turn and slammed into ground
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Auk VIII
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bounced in front of blockhouse and exploded sending shrapnel
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Auk IX
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made with rocket candy and had a satisfying hiss but plopped no more than 100ft from pad
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Auk X
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Fizzeled and thrusted gently on its fins, rocket candy had melted
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Auk XI
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non-moistened rocket candy, left off and exploded with steel fragments whistling overhead
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Auk XII
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melted rocket candy, shot off and leaned downrange leaving a smoke stream, went up 760ft
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Auk XIII
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wasn't as high as Auk XII, nozzle was worn through
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Auk XIV
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went up 3,000ft and nose cone was turned to sawdust
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Auk XV
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went half as high as Auk XIV
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Auk XVI
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fell with a thunk and was ingnited by battery
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Auk XVII - XIX
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ranged from 2,000 to 3,000ft high
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Auk XX
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Steel casement and melted rocket candy, exploded as it got past 300ft
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Auk XXI
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Nozzle was more shaped, *shot three weeks after Ike died* hot flame spurted from bottom as it leapt off the base leaving a white trail, went 4100ft
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Auk XXII
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zinc-sulfer mix, detonated on launch pad, sending shards of steel everywhere. Made Greenish White smoke
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Auk XXII - A
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zincoshine fuel, disappeared into the sky and was up for 38sec. Went up 5,776ft
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Auk XXII - B
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while trying to determine thrust, zipped down the tube, jerked the plank off the sawhorses, divided into the slack, bounced once whizzing over blockhouse and hit a hornet's nest
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Auk XXII - C
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became a rocket jackhammer and broke mom's bathroom scale
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Auk XXII - D
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Aimed towards Coalwood, landed in field and nozzle was only showing
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Auk XXIII
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Zincoshine feul, 4ft in length, streaked out of sight with thundering sound echoeing through mountains, was up forty two sec and went 7,056ft! was eroded out
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Auk XXIV
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a stretched out version of Auk XXIII, filled six inches with zincoshine (mixed 2/3 sulfer and 1/3 zinc) curved throat on rocket, wouldn't start cause cork fell off so the used firecracker fuse and it zipped out of sight, 48sec and went 8500ft!
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Auk XXV
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Peaked at the predicted 15,000 ft and fell down range. The hit bent the metal casement and shattered the wooden nose cone
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Auk XXVI
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Was a simple countersink nozzle and reached 3,000 feet.
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Auk XXVII
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1.25 inch wide and 3.5 feet long, the zincoshine was not all the way cured. It reached 9,000 ft with a silver column of smoke.
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Auk XXVIII
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At first, it bent slightly toward the crowd, but straightened up flying past Rocket Mountain and hitting a yellow jackets nest.
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Auk XXIX
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designed for 20,000 ft and was six feet long and two inches wide. Also, it almost reached 4 miles into the atmosphere.
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Auk XXX
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designed for 20,000 ft and was 5 foot 10.5 inches tall and 2.25 inches wide. It reached a total height of 23,000 ft. Quentin was excited, jumping up and down.
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Auk XXXI
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Homer Hickam Sr. launched this rocket, it was six and a half feet long and two and a quarter inches in diameter. It erupted and caused cement chunks to go out of the launch pad and a sound wave go over Coalwood. It reached a height of 31,000 feet.
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October 5, 1957
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When was Sputnik launched (date)?
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Big Creek Missile Agency
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What does the BCMA stand for?
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11
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How old was Sonny when the Captain retire and Homer took over?
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Miss Ogla
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What did Mrs. Hickam say when people called when Homer was out at the mine?
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Coalwood, McDonald County
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Where did Sonny grow up?
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tipple
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The shaft used for lifting, sorting, and dumping coal was called the _______.
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drums
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The writer played the _______in the school band.
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Principles of Guided Missile Design
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The title of the book Miss Riley gave the writer was __________________.
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Dorothy Plunk
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____________ surprised everyone by signing up for the calculus class.
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Dugout
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The kids' hangout in the basement of the Owl's Nest was named the ______.
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John F. Kennedy
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The writer met __________, a Democratic Presidential candidate
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prodigious
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Quentin liked to use the word _________ for anything he liked.
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Mr. Dubonnet
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__________ was the leader of the miners' union.
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Ike Bykovsky
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__________died in a mining accident that made the writer quit building rockets.
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Gevena Eggers
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The baby saved by the writer's father was ___________.
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Valentine
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__________ like to flirt with the writer.
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rose
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The writer's first rocket ripped out his mother's _________ fence.
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AUK
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The rocket boys named their rockets ___________.
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Six
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The nickname for the teachers who supported the rocket boys was the Great _____________.
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orange
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The writer first bought a/an __________ (color) suit for the National Science Fair.
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Mr. Fuller
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__________ placed a "No Trespassing" sign at Cape Coalwood
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Hodgkin's lymphoma
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Miss Riley died in 1969 from __________ Disease.
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six
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The last rocket fired by the rocket boys went almost ______ miles up.
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Auk XXXI
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The last rocket that was fired up was ______ ___ by Homer Hickam Sr.
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saltpeter, charcoal, sulfer
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What were the three ingredients in the first AUK rocket?
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airplane flare
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What started the forest fire?
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dime
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What was the size of the spot on Homer's lung?
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All in the Game
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What song was playing in the Dugout after he saw Jim with Dorothy?
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potassium chlorate and sugar
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What is Rocket candy made out of?
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green and white
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What colors was the BCMA flag?
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cardinal
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What bird was on Sonny's tie?
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Football Fathers
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Who were the group of men that filed a lawsuit against the West Viriginia Football League?
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de Laval
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What type of nozzle is on the Auk that is taken to Indianapolis?
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SAE 1020 bar stock
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What type of bar stock does the BCMA order after Mr. Fuller leaves?
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calculus
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What type of mathematics does Sonny teach himself using his dad's books?
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Welch High School
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What was the school in the county that they had the most competition with? Because of it's advanced technology.
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Cape Coalwood
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What did they call the BCMA launch site?
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Trailways Bus station @ 8
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What Bus station and @ what time did the rocket supplies come into Indianapolis?
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$22.50
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How much did the Rocket Boys get for over 400 pounds of scrap iron?
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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
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Where did Mrs. Hickam want to move and buy a house?
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Real Estate
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What type of business would have Mr. Hickam have gone in if he quit the mine?
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Band-Aid
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What type of stock did Mrs. Hickam invest in?
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a gas station
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What was Mr. Plank the owner of?
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14 inches by 1.5 inches
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What was the length of the rocket by the diameter of the rocket? (__ inches by __ inches)
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zinc-sulfer and moonshine
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what was in the zincoshine?
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Miss Riley
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Sonny's science teacher in Big Creek High school. She was a student teacher and coordinater for the science fair.
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Sonny
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Was given the name Homer Hardley Hickam Jr. when he was born, but his mother started calling him "Sunny" because of his personality. One of the main BCMA leaders/scientists.
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Homer Hickam
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Sonny's father who worked in the mines. When he was in high school the Captain saw him as a prodege and was trained. When Sonny was 11, Captain retired and he took over.
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Elsie Hickam
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Always told her son, Sonny that he was only from the Lavender side of the family. She was a main character who always supported Sonny, even after he blew up the rose garden fence that took three months of reminding Mr. Hickam. Loves Myrtel Beach, South Carolina. "Don't blow yourself up!"
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Roy Lee
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A friend of Sonny's since they were little. His father was killed in a mine accident and has a car. The reason he has a car was from a company settlement that went on before the book. He was a major pervert and playboy. Was a member of the BCMA/
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Sherman
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A friend of Sonny's. He had polio as a child and he could run as fast as everyone else but no one seemed to mind. Was a member of the BCMA.
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O'Dell
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A friend of Sonney's. Always has the 'good ideas.' Member of the BCMA. "A rocket won't fly unless someone lights the fuse."
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Quentin
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Friend of Sonny's. He was a brainac that was picked on a lot, he was the lead innovative scientist on the BCMA. Nothing was ever a failure, it's data was just put into the "body of knowledge". When Sonny asked him what he knew about rockets, he said " Everything."
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Jake Mosby
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An engineer from the company in Ohio. He was a major playboy, but helped with the boys fullfilling their dreams. He had a telescope that one night, the Rocket Boys looked up at Jupiter and imagined a life greater.
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Ike Bykovski
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Was a machinist who knew Sonny when he was little. When Mr. Hickam found out that he was making Sonny rockets without permission with company materials he was sent into the mine. He died a while after when the mine exploded.
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Mary Bykovski
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Ike Bykovski's wife who thought of Sonny like her son. After her husband's death, she left Coalwood after two weeks, even though the company granted her extended stay. "Wanna do something for Ike, keeping flying those rockets"
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Daisy Mae
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Sonny's beloved cat that was an abandoned calico. Later on in the story when there is union unrest, a follower of Pooky's ran her over.
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Chipper
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Mrs. Homer's pet squirrel that loved jumping on Roy Lee's D.A. :)
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Jim
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Sonny's older brother who blamed him for the dispute and unrest between the parents. He was a stylish person who was the man of the campus. This is because he was an outstanding football player and very popular with girls.
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Buck
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A fellow football player who was in a relationship with Valentine when....yeah, you get it. >.< Usually he loved to beat Sonny up or at least pick/sneer at him.
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Valentine
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A girl who loved to throw herself at Sonny. Always was telling him that he need to find a girl that would appreciate him. Her and Sonny were together at the Dugout.
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Dorothy
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The girl that Sonny was in love with. They were in a science discetion of a worm in the beginning of the story. Usually on Sundays, Sonny would hitchike a ride up to War to have science studies with her. He was her little friend. She later went out with Jim @ the dugout.
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Emily Sue
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Best friend of Dorothy, who was a best friend for life that Sonny could confine in. She helped him pick out a suit after the orange suit O'Dell helped him pick out.
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Mr. Turner
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Principle of Big Creek High School. Told the BCMA member's Sonny and Quentin that he didn't want a bomb club at his high school.
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Poppy
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Mr. Hickam's father who had his legs cut off in a runaway train car. Exclaimed to Homer that he (sonny) looked just like him (Homer Sr.). Then Mrs. Hickam went outside and cooed "No you're not, no you're not."
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Calvin
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Son of Pooky, a pro-union. When he was little he used to beat Sonny up when there were strikes. Later in the story, after a scuffle with Sonny, he asked him if once he was down at Cape Canaveral, if he could find jobs for him (Pooky's son + followers).
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Pooky
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A lazy person who blames Mr. Hickam for his daddy's death and for making him work in the sixth grade (even though he had repeated it 6 times). Was thrown out of town by Tag becausde he was beating his wife.
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Uncle Ken
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A Democrat who would rather vote for Daisy Mae for president that a republican. (You can guess the conversations between him and Mr. Hickam).
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Werner Von Braun
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Sonny's idol who worked at Cape Canarval. For Christmas one year, Mrs. Hickam gave Sonny his picture with an autograph on it.
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Junior
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The clerk who worked at the Big Store.
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Little Richard
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Was a reverend at the "colored" church on the mountain. Whenever there was an extra paper, Sonny would go deliever it to him and listen to his words of wisdom and kindness.
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The Great Six
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The teachers from Grades 1 - 6. They were very wonderful teachers who wanted the correct saying used and pushed reading. By the time Sonny was in 2nd grade, he was familar with Uncle Tom's cabin and Tom Sawyer. They saved Huckleberry Finn for 3rd grade.
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Mr. McDuff
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The mine carpenter who gave the BCMA fine cut lumber and a box of nails.
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Mr. Ferro
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Was the head of the machine shops, who told Sonny to come back for scrap tin when he had something to trade.
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Tom Tickle
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A miner who always supported the Rocket Boys, was in the Middletown near the playground where Auk XXII-D fell.
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Mr. Fuller
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A high up (and very rude) company man, who is determined to stop the Rocket Boys from shooting off their rockets. Mr. Hickam and him had a "negotiation" mostly one sided and Homer picking him off the ground.
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Mr. Bundini
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A new company general superintendant that took over Mr. Fuller's job.
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Mr. Van Dyke
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Mine superintendant who was sent by the steel company to keep an eye on its holdings in the mine.
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Billy
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A BCMA member, who helped out. He joined them around the time of Auk X. And when Auk XXIII crashed, he found a money maker, ginseng root.
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Tag
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A farmer/ sheriff for Coalwood. He caught Roy Lee and the gang when they tried to steal the telephone from the barn.
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Mr. Canton
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A machinist who was assigned to help make the rockets at the end of the story. He helped make the De Laval nozel
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Melba June
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11th grade went to the winter formal. They ended up dancing and going to Roy Lee's backseat. Anyways....kissed Sonny before he went to Indianapolis
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John F. Kennedy
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A senator that was running for office before Sonny went up to Indianapolis. It was when he was suit shopping and wearing his 'awesome' orange suit O'Dell picked out for him.
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Basil
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The reporter who wrote articles about the BCMA and their launches.
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Mrs. Shariz
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A neighbor who was somehow aware of Daisy Mae's death and told Mrs. Hickam that Sonny would be okay.
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Mr. Dubonnet
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A union leader who was always having arguements with Mr. Hickam and supported the Rocket Boys.
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Geneva Eggers
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A woman that Mr. Hickam had saved from a fire when she was a baby. Her profession is to be men's "girlfriends"
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Tex
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His real name is Orville, and was a friend from the science fair. He also had a rocket display made out of plumbing
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Reverend Lainer
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The company churchman who told the story of The Father and the Son. It was to symbolize the relationship between the Rocket Boys and the Company.
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Johnny Villani
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The radio announcer who was reporting Sputnik for the WELC.
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Ed Johnson
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Disc jockey for the Dugout, who had the best music on the best side of the American Bandstand
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Captain
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A college graduate, who had an engineering degree who founded the Women's Club, Scouts, and the Coalwood library.
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Coach Morgan
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The football coach for Big Creek High School. After Jim's season, the coach went to a different district and Big Creek lost 3 out of the first 4 games.
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Dandy and Poteet
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The Hickam's dogs
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Jack
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The bus driver who kicked Sonny and Buck out of the bus for fighting.
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John Eye
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The moonshine palace's operator and gives the Rocket Boys a hangover.
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