Mark Stucky Named As Test Pilot For Future Flight Tests

Since its inception, Virgin Galactic has worked with Scaled Composites to build and test the spacecraft Virgin hopes will eventually carry paying passengers on sub-orbital spaceflights. But when the newest version of SpaceShipTwo is complete, Virgin Galactic says it will be doing the flight testing on its own.

Scaled's pilots were flying SpaceShipTwo when it broke up over the Mojave Desert on October 31 last year, resulting in the fatal injury of pilot Michael Alsbury. Peter Siebold, the other pilot, was thrown from the disintegrating spacecraft and managed to survive.

Now, Virgin Galactic has hired Scaled Composites pilot Mark Stucky to join the team that will conduct future test fights. In a news release, Virgin Galactic says that Stucky, a former NASA and USAF "Test Pilot of the Year" has flown SpaceShipTwo twenty times in his career. Stucky will join Virgin Galactic’s commercial flight team responsible for flying WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo: Chief Pilot Dave Mackay and pilots Frederick ‘CJ’ Sturckow, Michael ‘Sooch’ Masucci, and Todd ‘Leif’ Ericson, who is also Virgin Galactic’s Safety and Testing Vice President. His first day with Virgin Galactic is February 2.

During his tenure at Scaled, Stucky flew the majority of SpaceShipTwo’s envelope expansion flights and initiated its powered rocket motor test flight phase as pilot in command on the spaceship’s first powered flight. He also served as project pilot and instructor in the transition and integration of WhiteKnightTwo from Scaled to Virgin Galactic’s commercial operations team, led by Vice President of Operations Mike Moses, according to the release.

Stucky is currently the President of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Last year he was inducted as a Fellow, an honor bestowed annually to those who have served with distinction in flight test.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the new SpaceShipTwo is about 90 percent structurally complete, and there have been some modifications made in light of last year's accident ... the details of which have not yet been made public.

And while it does represent a shift in the organizational structure of the program, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said that Scaled will still be involved in some way "for years to come." Kevin Mikey, president of Scaled Composites, confirmed to the LA Times that the company would not be involved in flight testing, but would continue as a consultant. The separation has reportedly been in the works since before the October accident.

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com, www.scaledcomposites.com