Forger Stucky

Test pilot/commercial astronaut who’s Forest Gumped his way through an amazing aerospace piloting career. Didn’t write “Test Gods”, just takes the blame ;)

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

I’m on X for two main reasons - 1) to give unique insight into aerospace topics garnered from my unusually broad test pilot career. 2) To inject humor (usually sarcastic and sophomoric at best) in the hopes of getting at least one person to smile.

Follow me if you want to live…

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@FlynonymousWX It’s an even cooler visualization to imagine it then landing in the ocean!

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

You know it will be a good ceremony when they have such cool ceiling ornaments. I was purposely early so I took a stroll around the amazing aircraft displays. Some guy was standing next to a woman by the SR-71 explaining “the entire thing is made out of *magnesium*!”

I kept my mouth shut and kept walking

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@PaulTopham @Hush_Kit The F-16 pioneered the funnel (EEGS)

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@PaulTopham @Hush_Kit A pretty basic LCOS

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@Hush_Kit Chief Warrant Officer Bernie "Hondo" Coleman is a flight test engineer in the control room, a logistics officer, push-up enforcer, flight deck/arresting gear specialist, confident, that somehow always gets orders tied to Maverick’s

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@PaulTopham @Hush_Kit The F-14A did not have a gunsight funnel

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@SciGuySpace That was … understated.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

Now that is some fantastic news! Hopefully accurate, too!

[Dave Limp @davill]

Some LC-36 updates. Now that we’ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news. The propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items. The water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced. The booster “Never Tell Me The Odds” and the three GS-2s that were onsite in the integration facility also look good.

I’ve seen some speculation that we might move directly to the 9x4 configuration, but we won’t do that. Rate manufacturing of 7x2 is going well, and we’re going to continue that at pace as planned and store the stages for use. In addition, we had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical conop, and we’ll now go directly to that; so we don’t need a new transporter-erector.

We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@mirandahw_ Raptor V1 to V3 progression was….?

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

Actually, I can think of a couple examples.

IMO, the space industry tries too hard to justify [eye rolling] “firsts”. Maybe driven by funding or PAOs trying to justify their jobs but often it seems driven by their customers who desperately need some kind of first for their ego wall. I’m reminded of the movie “Rocketman”.

“I’m the first person to moonwalk on Mars!”

“Well sorry, Mr. First to show inappropriate behavior on Mars!”

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

It will be interesting to understand the setup (will the launch date depend on the researcher’s biological cycle?), what instrumentation will be used, and what data collected during the couple of minutes of microgravity? How do the boost forces immediately prior to the short period of microgravity affect the data? What will be learned of value as opposed to what has already been learned by the numerous “real” female astronauts that have orbited onboard space stations for months at a time?

[Virgin Galactic @virgingalactic]

Welcoming Operation Period to our 2027 spaceflight manifest. This will be the first spaceflight ever dedicated to studying menstruation in microgravity, investigating how space travel affects menstrual physiology, with implications for astronaut health and reproductive medicine on Earth. This is what inclusive-by-design research looks like → https://t.co/orze0lpiEf

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@DJSnM Certainly brings a new aspect to “the Virgin experience”

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@Digitrevx You may be “LMAO” over things like this, but you do so out of happy ignorance.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@SciGuySpace Just don’t tell me the odds of that

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

Reports of a major explosion near or at @blueorigin’s LC-36 launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@stevecrye @MassiasThanos @aviationarchive @BuzzLightSabre Yes

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@BellikOzan @FiredUpCoug Same, but my kid is the lifeguard.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@MassiasThanos @aviationarchive @BuzzLightSabre The release mechanism was simply a drag chute release mechanism from a B-52, mounted backwards.

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@DrDave_99 @aviationarchive @BuzzLightSabre I figured it had to be divine guidance 😂

[Forger Stucky @Stuck4ger]

@DrDave_99 @aviationarchive @BuzzLightSabre Instrumented weak link had a breaking strength of 24,500 lbs. I suggested that value because it was 80% the takeoff gross weight (bottom of suggested range for sailplanes), allowed us a good takeoff acceleration (could release and abort at Vrot), = F-106 empty wt & = J75 thrust.