Salina Grad Pilots Historic Space Mission

A former Salinan piloted what was hailed as a successful private mission to space.

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, one of its SpaceShipTwo planes, touched down back on Earth after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California an hour earlier and was successfully released into space. Along with 2 pilots on board the spacecraft was also carrying payloads to simulate the weight of a commercial flight.

Richard Branson’s company has had plans to take passengers to outer space for over a decade and this mission brings them one step closer to reality.

One of the two pilots was Mark “Forger” Stucky. Stucky graduated from Salina South High School in 1976, and from Kansas State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science.