Any of various game birds in the family Tetraonidae (order Galliformes), including the prairie chicken and ptarmigan, or the sandgrouse (order Columbiformes).
An Anderson version of the “Jumping Jeep”, also by BAC, might easily have emerged from the pod carried by Thunderbird Two on one of its missions for International Rescue.
Scott " Kidd" Poteet, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot, and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon stayed strapped to their seats to monitor from inside. All four underwent intensive training before the trip.
Greg Autry is vice president of Space Development at the National Space Society and professor of space leadership at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona.