Mark P. Stucky
Mark P. "Forger" Stucky is an American test pilot, former United States Marine Corps pilot, former NASA test pilot, and commercial astronaut. He is best known in spaceflight for commanding VSS Unity's first flight above the United States space boundary.
- Born
- November 9, 1958
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Minneapolis, Minnesota,United States
Flights
1
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
About 14 minutes
Bio
Stucky's flying career included military aviation, NASA Armstrong research flying, and commercial spacecraft test work. At Virgin Galactic, he became one of the central pilots in the SpaceShipTwo flight-test program after the company rebuilt toward powered flight following the VSS Enterprise accident.
On December 13, 2018, Stucky commanded VSS Unity VP-03 with C. J. Sturckow as co-pilot. The vehicle reached about 82.7 kilometers, crossing the United States Air Force and FAA spaceflight boundary and earning both pilots commercial astronaut wings.
Stucky's completed spaceflight record is one short suborbital VSS Unity flight, centered on the December 2018 test that made him a commercial astronaut.