Mark Stucky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1958-11-09)November 9, 1958 (age 67) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Status | Retired |
| Other names | "Forger" |
| Alma mater | Kansas State University, B.S. 1980 |
| Occupation(s) | Marine aviator,USAF test pilot,test pilot,astronaut |
| Space career | |
Virgin Galacticcommercial astronaut | |
| Rank | Major,USMC;Lieutenant Colonel,USAF |
| Selection | 2009[1] |
| Missions | VSSUnity VP-03 |
Mark P. "Forger" Stucky (born 9 November 1958) is an Americantest pilot andcommercial astronaut. In these roles, he was an employee ofVirgin Galactic, aprivate spaceflight company which is developingsub-orbitalspace tourism flights.
On 13 December 2018, Stucky and co-pilotFrederick Sturckow flewVSSUnity VP-03, a Virgin Galactic test flight which reached an apogee of 82.7 km (51.4 mi). This surpassed the United States convention for the boundary of outer space, (50 mi (80.47 km)), but fell short of theKármán line (100 km (62.14 mi)), the internationally recognized boundary. The flight was notable as an uncommon example of a high-altitude flight with an apogee falling between the two altitudes; other examples includeeleven flights of theNorth American X-15 andSoyuz MS-10, an aborted spaceflight which had occurred weeks earlier.
After being fired from Virgin Galactic in 2021, Stucky was hired byBlue Origin to be part of that company'sAdvanced Development Team in October of that year.[2]
Stucky is an accomplished aviator with experience in military, commercial, and experimental flight.
Mark Stucky was born inMinneapolis, Minnesota, to Paul and Lidia. He lived inSalina, Kansas during his childhood, where Paul taught physics at a local college.[3] Stucky's interest in aviation dates to 1974, when he beganhang gliding off of cliffs.[4] He aspired to be a pilot and astronaut, goals which could be realized through entrance into military service. However, Paul was aMennonite who believed inpacifism, and forbade his son to join the military. Stucky's interest in hang gliding led to a design project which resulted in a scholarship to study atKansas State University; he graduated in 1980 with a B.S. inPhysical Science. Stucky's desire to become a pilot was strong enough that he joined theUnited States Marine Corps, against his father's wishes.[3]
Stucky received flight training and performed test flights under the auspices of various branches of thearmed forces, including the Marines, theNavy, and theAir Force. He flew theF-4 Phantom and "all models of"[4] theF/A-18 Hornet. During the firstGulf War, Stucky flew several combat missions.[4] Following the war he continued his education, completing an M.S. in Aviation Systems at theUniversity of Tennessee.
In 1993 Stucky was hired byNASA as a test pilot. He left the organization in 1999, citing disappointment over a dearth of piloted research projects.[3] He took work as a civilian commercial pilot forUnited Airlines until 2003 when he re-entered the military, now in the Air Force. Stucky returned to duty in the Middle East, this time in theIraq War. While there, he followed news of a private spacecraft which had made sub-orbital flights: in 2004SpaceShipOne, designed byBurt Rutan ofScaled Composites, flew into space three times. Stucky considered that there might be other avenues for becoming an astronaut.[3] SpaceShipOne's success promptedVirgin Group magnateRichard Branson to found Virgin Galactic and partner with Rutan for the development of a sequel craft,SpaceShipTwo, to be used by the new company. In 2005 Rutan and Branson co-foundedThe Spaceship Company, a further manufacturing entity expressly intended to supply Virgin Galactic with a fleet of SpaceShipTwo craft.
Stucky returned from the Iraq War in 2007 and moved toNevada, still in the employ of the Air Force, engaged on a classified project. He reached out to Scaled for a job opportunity and was hired as a test pilot in 2009.[3] The first instance of SpaceShipTwo, theVSSEnterprise, made its first flight in 2010; Stucky pilotedseveral test flights of the craft until itscatastrophic breakup in 2014. Despite severecriticism following the disaster, Virgin Galactic continued development of its program; Stucky was hired directly by Virgin Galactic as a test pilot in 2015, as part of restructuring.[5] During this period he also served as president of theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots for a one-year stint, the normal term of the organization's leadership.[6] In 2016 Stucky piloted the first free flight of the second SpaceShipTwo craftVSSUnity,[7] following release from its companionmother ship, theWhite Knight Two-classVMSEve.
In 2021 Stucky was the focus of the bookTest Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of the Modern Astronaut by Nicholas Schmidle, published on May 4, 2021. The book resulted in a fallout between Stucky and Virgin Galactic in part due to revealing Stucky's internal criticisms of Virgin Galactic's safety standards, and Stucky was barred from participating in Richard Branson'sJuly 11 spacecraft flight. On July 19, 2021, Stucky was then fired from Virgin Galactic over a remoteZoom call.[8] It was later revealed there was a course deviation on the 11 July flight, which triggered aFederal Aviation Administration investigation, to which Stucky stated, "the most misleading statement today was Virgin Galactic's. The facts are the pilots failed to trim to achieve the proper pitch rate, the winds were well within limits, they did nothing of substance to address the trajectory error, and enteredClass A airspace without authorization."[9]
On 13 December 2018, at an altitude of 43,000 feet, the VMSEve released the VSSUnity for its fourth powered test flight.[10][11] Lead pilot Stucky and co-pilot Sturckow flewUnity at a maximumMach of 2.9 to a maximum altitude of 82.7 kilometers, thereby surpassing the 50-mile limit used in the United States to denote the limit of space, but falling short of the Kármán line. Both craft landed safely afterwards. The flight was publicized online in varioustweets by Virgin Galactic, Branson himself, and related personnel. Per the U.S. convention the flight was the first human spaceflight beginning in the United States sinceSTS-135, the final flight of theSpace Shuttle in 2011.
Stucky is divorced from his first wife Joan with whom he has three children. He has remarried to a second wife, Cheryl Agin.[3]
Parent company:Virgin Group | |
| Staff |
|
| Vehicle classes | |
| Vehicles | |
| Spaceports | |
| Accidents and incidents | |
| Spaceflight | |
| Related companies |
|
| Related topics | |
