Scott Poteet

Scott "Kidd" Poteet (born December 7, 1973) is an American retired pilot from the United States Air Force. He was the pilot of the Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, a privately funded human spaceflight operated by SpaceX for Jared Isaacman. Poteet lives in Stratham, NH.

Early life He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Outdoor education at the University of New Hampshire, and later attended the Air Command and Staff College, and earned a Master's degree in counseling and leadership from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in a program jointly operated with the Air Force Academy.

Career

Poteet is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel who served for 18 years in a variety of roles, including commanding officer of the 64th Aggressor Squadron, pilot in the USAF Thunderbirds (Position 4), test and evaluation pilot, and commercial pilot. Poteet has over 3,200 flight hours on the F-16, A-4, T-38, T-37, T-3 and Alpha Jet. He logged over 400 combat hours during Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Joint Guardian, Freedom's Sentinel, and Resolute Support.

In 2022, Poteet was selected to serve as the spacecraft pilot of the Polaris Dawn mission, which flew in September 2024. During the flight, Poteet was the backup to Isaacman, the mission commander, who successfully completed the first commercial spacewalk.

Personal life

Poteet and his wife Kristen have two daughters and one son. He is a runner and triathlete, competing in 15 Ironman triathlons since 2000, including four Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Media coverage He appears as a mission director in the 2021 docuseries Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space.