Robert Gibson | |
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| Born | Robert Lee Gibson (1946-10-30)October 30, 1946 (age 79) Cooperstown, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Hoot |
| Education | Suffolk County Community College (AS) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (BS) |
| Awards | Defense Superior Service Medal Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Captain,USN |
Time in space | 36d 4h 15m |
| Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
| Missions | STS-41-B STS-61-C STS-27 STS-47 STS-71 |
Mission insignia |      |
| Retirement | November 15, 1996 |
Robert Lee Gibson (born October 30, 1946), (Capt,USN, Ret.), is a former Americannaval officer andaviator,test pilot, andaeronautical engineer. A retiredNASAastronaut, he also served asChief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 to 1997. Today Gibson is active as a professional pilot, racing regularly at the annualReno Air Races. He was inducted into theU.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2003 and theNational Aviation Hall of Fame in 2013, and has received several military decorations throughout his career.
Gibson was born October 30, 1946, inCooperstown, New York. He graduated from Huntington High School,Huntington, New York as a part of the Class of 1964, and went on to earn anAssociate degree inengineering science fromSuffolk County Community College in 1966. He received aBachelor of Science degree inaeronautical engineering fromCalifornia Polytechnic State University in 1969.[1]
Gibson entered active duty with theU.S. Navy in 1969. He was commissioned through theAviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS), and proceed to flight training.[2] He received basic and primary flight training atNaval Air Station Pensacola andNaval Air Station Saufley Field,Florida, andNaval Air Station Meridian,Mississippi. He completed advanced flight training atNaval Air Station Kingsville,Texas and was assigned to Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-121) atNaval Air Station Miramar,California for replacement training in theF-4 Phantom II.
While assigned to Fighter Squadron 111 (VF-111) and Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) from April 1972 to September 1975, he saw duty aboardaircraft carriersUSS Coral Sea andUSS Enterprise, flyingcombat missions inSoutheast Asia in theF-4 with VF-111 and making the initial operational carrier deployment of theF-14 Tomcat with VF-1. He is a graduate of theNavy Fighter Weapons School, also known as "TOPGUN."
Gibson returned to the United States and an assignment as anF-14A instructor pilot with Fighter Squadron 124 (VF-124) at Naval Air Station Miramar. He graduated from theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School atNaval Air Station Patuxent River,Maryland in June 1977 and later became involved in the test and evaluation of improvements to the F-14A aircraft while assigned to the Naval Air Test Center's Strike Aircraft Test Directorate.
Selected as a NASA astronaut, he continued to be promoted, eventually achieving the rank ofcaptain in the U.S. Navy and the rank at which he retired from active naval service.
Charles F. Bolden, his copilot on STS-61-C, described Gibson andJohn Young as the two best pilots he had met "in my life in aviation, over thirty-five years; never met two people like them. Everyone else gets into an airplane; John and Hoot wear their airplane. They're just awesome".[3]
Gibson's flight experience included over 6,000 flying hours (14,000 hours in total) in over 140 types of civil and military aircraft.[4] He holds an airline transport pilot license. In 2006 he was required to stop flying for the airlines because he reached his 60th birthday. He still holds a multi-engine and instrument rating. He has held a private pilot rating since age 17. Gibson has also completed over 300 carrier landings.
Selected byNASA in January 1978, Gibson became anastronaut in August 1979. Gibson flew five missions:STS-41-B in 1984,STS-61-C in 1986,STS-27 in 1988,STS-47 in 1992, andSTS-71 in 1995. Gibson served asChief of the Astronaut Office (December 1992 to September 1994) and as Deputy Director, Flight Crew Operations (March–November 1996).
On his first space flight, Gibson was the pilot on STS 41-B, which launched fromKennedy Space Center on February 3, 1984. The flight deployed two Hughes 376 communications satellites which later failed to reachgeosynchronous orbits due to upper-stage rocket failures. The STS 41-B mission marked the first checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) and Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR), withBruce McCandless II andBob Stewart performing two EVAs (spacewalks). The GermanShuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS), Remote Manipulator System (RMS), six "Getaway Specials", and materials processing experiments were included on the mission. The eight-day orbital flight ofChallenger culminated in the first-ever landing at the Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984.
Gibson was the commander of the STS-61-C mission, and the first of only four people under the age of 40 to command an STS mission. The seven-man crew on board the OrbiterColumbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on January 12, 1986. During the six-day flight, the crew deployed the SATCOM Ku-band satellite and conducted experiments in astrophysics and materials processing. The mission concluded with a successful night landing atEdwards Air Force Base, California, on January 18, 1986.
Gibson subsequently participated in the investigation of the Space ShuttleChallengeraccident, and also participated in the redesign and recertification of the solid rocket boosters.[1]
As the commander ofSTS-27, Gibson and his five-man crew launched from the Kennedy Space Center on December 2, 1988, aboard the OrbiterAtlantis. The mission carried aDepartment of Defense payload, and a number of secondary payloads. After 68 orbits of the Earth the mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base on December 6, 1988. The mission is noteworthy due to the severe damageAtlantis sustained to its critical heat-resistant tiles during ascent.
When in training for the 1991STS-46 mission, Gibson was involved in a collision during a weekend air race in Texas that left a second pilot dead and raised questions about the enforcement of rules banning such high-risk activity by expensively trained astronauts. He lost his flight status on NASA's T-38 training aircraft for one year, thus being unable to participate in the training for the mission.[5]
On Gibson's fourth space flight, the fiftiethSpace Shuttle mission, he served as commander ofSTS-47,Spacelab-J, which launched on September 12, 1992, aboard the OrbiterEndeavour. The mission was a cooperative venture between the United States and Japan, and included the first Japanese astronaut,Mamoru Mohri, and the first African-American woman,Mae Jemison, in the crew. During the eight-day flight, the crew focused on life science and materials processing experiments in over forty investigations in theSpacelab laboratory, as well as scientific and engineering tests performed aboard the OrbiterEndeavour. The mission ended with a successful landing at the Kennedy Space Center on September 20, 1992.
On his last flight, (June 27 to July 7, 1995), Gibson commanded a crew of seven-members (up) and eight-members (down) on Space Shuttle missionSTS-71. This was the first Space Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space StationMir, and involved an exchange of crews. TheAtlantis Space Shuttle was modified to carry a docking system compatible with the Russian Mir Space Station. It also carried a Spacelab module in the payload bay in which the crew performed various life sciences experiments and data collections. When the hatch separating the two modules was opened, Gibson and Vladimir Dezhurov shook hands. Later that day,PresidentBill Clinton in a statement mentioned that this handshake was a major breakthrough towards the ending of theCold War.
When giving public speeches, Gibson often jokes that he ended the Cold War.[6]
In five space flights, Gibson completed a total of 36.5 days in space.
Gibson left NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot forSouthwest Airlines. In 2006, as reported by NASA Watch, Gibson was forced to retire as mandated by theFederal Aviation Administration for commercial airline pilots. Gibson has publicly spoken out against federal regulations which require airline pilots to retire at age 60.[7] In December 2006, he joined theBenson Space Company aschief operating officer and chief test pilot.[8] Gibson has flown 111 different aircraft types,[9] and has become a regular competitor at the annualReno Air Races.[9] In 1998, Gibson flying theHawker Sea Fury "Riff-Raff" won the Unlimited Class in the Inaugural Running of the EAAAirVenture Cup Race.[10]
Beginning in 2009, Gibson flew as a demonstration pilot forHawker Beechcraft Corporation to showcase the Premier 1A light business jet across the United States and overseas.
In 2010, TheAcademy of Model Aeronautics, the United States' national aeromodeling organization, named Gibson a spokesperson and Ambassador to promote the hobby of radio controlled model flight and to encourage an interest in aviation amongst young people. Gibson has stated that his interest in manned flight and his career as a test pilot and astronaut has its origin in his building of model aircraft as a youth. Gibson remains an avid radio controlled model hobbyist and is reportedly constructing a flyable version of the experimental vertical take off and landingConvair XFY-1Pogo of the 1950s.
Gibson worked with theNational Transportation Safety Board following the2011 Reno Air Races crash. This was documented in anAir Disasters episode several years later.
In September 2013, Gibson qualified the Hawker Sea Fury known as "September Fury" in race #232 at the 50th National Championship Air Races at a speed of 479.164 mph. This is the fastest Sea Fury qualifying time.[11]
In September 2015, Gibson qualified the P-51D, known as "Strega" at the 52nd National Championship Air Races at a speed of 475.043, and won the Gold Unlimited Race finishing at 488.983 mph average speed. He was crowned the Unlimited Gold Champion for 2015.[12]
On May 30, 1981, he married fellow astronaut,Rhea Seddon ofMurfreesboro, Tennessee. Their first child was born in July 1982. Gibson already had one child, a daughter, from his first marriage. Gibson and Seddon had two further children.
Gibson enjoys home-built aircraft,Formula One Air Racing, Unlimited Class Air Racing,running andsurfing during his free time.
In October 2008, Gibson was a contestant onAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. During his appearance, he became the first contestant to make it to the million-dollar question without using any of his cheats. He incorrectly answered the $1,000,000 question ("How many factors do 32 and 28 share?"). The correct answer is three; 1, 2, and 4. He answered with two (2 and 4). All of his prize money ($25,000) went to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
Military awards include the:
Gibson also was barred from T-38 jet trainer flights for one year while Walker was grounded for 60 days. Neither pilot will be eligible for reassignment to a shuttle mission until they are back on T-38 flight status.
Now Bill Clinton didn't say, 'Well, Hoot ended the Cold War.' I've interpreted it that way.
| Preceded by | Chief of the Astronaut Office 1992–1994 | Succeeded by |
NASA Astronaut Group 8, "TFNG (Thirty-Five New Guys)", 1978  | |||||||
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