October Sky
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Questions #1-8
1. Who did Sonny talk to when everyone in the house seemed at odds?
A: Daisy Mae- The cat
2. What name does Sonny make up for his rocket club?
A: The Big Creek Missile Agency
3. Where do they choose as a launch site for the rocket?
A: An old slack dump behind the mine.
4. What is the reader supposed to understand when Quentin shares Sonny’s lunch?
A: Quentin is poor.
5. Who is the new science teacher?
A: Miss Riley the Concord college student teacher.
6. What contrasts the people of Welch with the people of Coalwood?
A: Welch kids are smart and Coalwood is good at football.
7. What is the difference between Sonny and Jim according to Emily Sue?
A: Sonny likes himself, Jim doesn’t and doesn’t have friends just girlfriends.
8. What substance does Sonny need in order to make the rocket fuel?
A: Powdered glue
Chapter 6 Questions #9-16
9. How had Sonny known about the secret entrance to the mines?
A: Mr. Bykovski
10. What does Mr. Bykovski decide to teach Sonny?
A: To solder
11. Why did Sonny name his first rocket Auk I and what literary device does that make
this name?
A: An auk is an extinct bird that cant fly and he wanted to prove a point to the boys.
12. Why did Auk I fail?
A: the solder melted
13. When Auk IV goes astray, where does it head for?
A: the mine
14. Who is at Horner’s office when the rocket lands?
A: Horner and other miners from Ohio
15. What does Horner say about the rocket?
A: that Sonny and Mr. Bykovski are theirs
16. Who is Horner mad at when the chapter ends?
A: Mr. Bykovski
Event 1
 Sonny watches ABMA led by Dr. Von
Braun, launch the Explorer 1 satellite on
the Tonight Show.
Event 2
 Roy Lee, Sherman, O’Dell and Quentin
go over to Sonny’s house and they name
their group Big Creek Missile Agency
(BCMA).
Event 3
 The BCMA chooses an old slack dump
behind the mine to launch the rocket.
Event 4
 Jim saves Quentin and Sonny from
getting beat up by football guys.
Event 5
 Jim saves Quentin & Sonny meet Ms.
Riley the new chemistry teacher, Quentin
tells Mr. Turner & Ms. Riley about his
plans to win the Science fair and Sonny
gets angry.
Event 6
 Emily Sue tells Sonny about the
differences between Jim and him and
points out the similarities in Jim and
Dorothy. Emily she crushes Sonny’s
dreams by telling him Dorothy will never
think of him anything more than her little
friend.
Event 7
 Sonny discovers he needs powdered
glue to make the rocket and gets it from
Junior.
Event 8
 Sonny goes to see Mr. Bykovski at as
asks him to weld a washer to the rocket.
He solders some aluminum tubing
instead
Event 9
 Sonny names the rocket Auk and Auk is
on extinct bird that cant fly.
Event 10
 BCMA launches Auk I, if flies 6 feet off
the ground then crashes because the
solder melted.
Event 11
 Sonny goes back to Mr. Bykovski three
more times rockets all with steel welded
on instead of aluminum soldered.
Event 12
 The BCMA launches Auk II, III and IV, II
and III fly but almost immediately.
Event 13
 When they launch Auk IV it flies but it
drifts over towards the mine.
Event 14
 Auk IV crashes into Mr. Hickman’s office
while Horner & a bunch of other miners
are meeting.
Event 15
 Mr. Hickmans comes out and finds the
rocket, he’s angry and the men are
laughing at Sonny.
Event 16
 Horner inspects the rocket and accuses
Sonny and Mr. Bykovski of being thieves.
Quotations
 Pg. 110: “The BCMA had rocketattacked the coal company.”
 Pg. 104: “I named it Auk I, after the great
Auk, an extinct bird that couldn’t fly.”