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It was further stipulated that candidates should be between 25 and 40 years old, no taller than 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), and hold a college degree in a STEM subject.[7] The college degree requirement excluded the USAF's X-1 pilot, then-Lt Col (later Brig Gen) Chuck Yeager, the first person to exceed the speed of sound.[160] He later became a critic of the project, ridiculing the civilian space program, labeling astronauts as "spam in a can."[161] John Glenn did not have a college degree either, but used influential friends to make the selection committee accept him.[162] USAF Capt. (later Col.) Joseph Kittinger, a USAF fighter pilot and stratosphere balloonist, met all the requirements but preferred to stay in his contemporary project.[160] Other potential candidates declined because they did not believe that human spaceflight had a future beyond Project Mercury.[160][n 15] From the original 508, 110 candidates were selected for an interview, and from the interviews, 32 were selected for further physical and mental testing.[164] Their health, vision, and hearing were examined, together with their tolerance to noise, vibrations, g-forces, personal isolation, and heat.[165][166] In a special chamber, they were tested to see if they could perform their tasks under confusing conditions.[165] The candidates had to answer more than 500 questions about themselves and describe what they saw in different images.[165] Navy Lt (later Capt) Jim Lovell, who was later an astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo programs, did not pass the physical tests.[160] After these tests it was intended to narrow the group down to six astronauts, but in the end it was decided to keep seven.[167]