Robert L. Gibson - Wikipedia

Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that October 30 is the anniversary of the birthday of former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson who is a retired NASA astronaut, as well as a professional pilot who currently races regularly at the annual Reno Air Races.
Happy 73rd birthday Robert L. Gibson.
An Astronaut Couple On Spaceflight, Marriage, and Family
"In this What's New in Aerospace presentation, Dr. Rhea Seddon and Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson talk about life as an astronaut couple. Dr. Seddon, a surgeon and astronaut, flew three space flights and has logged over 700 hours in space. Her husband Hoot Gibson is a pilot and astronaut who has flown five missions and spent over 850 hours in space. During the program, they will discuss their careers and how they managed marriage and parenting around the demands of going to work in space."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riem9621FmU

Images:
1. Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson
2. Robert Gibson and wife Rhea Sneddon.
3. Rhea Seddon; her husband, Robert 'Hoot' Gibson; and the world’s first astrotot (a child born to two astronauts), Paul Gibson, in 1983
4. Rhea, Paul Gibson, Dann Gibson [astrotot 2] .and Emilee Gibson [astrotot 3] and dad Robert Gibson.

Biographies
1.astronautscholarship.org/Astronauts/robert-l-hoot-gibson/
2. nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/gibson-robert-lee/

1. Background from astronautscholarship.org/Astronauts/robert-l-hoot-gibson/
" Astronaut Scholarship Foundation > Astronauts > Robert Gibson
Robert L Hoot Gibson
Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson commanded four of the five Space Shuttle missions on which he flew, including the first docking of a shuttle with the Russian space station Mir.

Gibson was born October 30, 1946, in Cooperstown, N.Y., and received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1969. Following graduation, he entered the Navy and completed advanced flight training two years later. While assigned to Fighter Squadrons 111 and 1 between 1972 and 1975, he served aboard the aircraft carriers Coral Sea and Enterprise – flying combat missions in Southeast Asia. He later graduated from the Naval Fighter Weapons School, known as “Topgun,” and from the Navy Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md. In 1977 he was involved in testing the F14A aircraft while assigned to the Naval Air Test Center’s Strike Aircraft Test Directorate.

NASA selected Gibson for astronaut training in 1978. On his first flight, aboard Challenger in 1984, he was pilot on a mission in which the five-person crew properly deployed two communications satellites, but both failed to reach desired synchronous orbits because of upper stage rocket failures. The flight was the first in which astronauts tested the Manned Maneuvering Unit – with both Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart flying untethered up to several hundred feet from the orbiter. Gibson was in command of a seven-man crew when Columbia was launched in January 1986, deploying a communications satellite and conducting experiments in astrophysics and materials processing, Later that month, the shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing its seven-person crew. Gibson participated in the investigation of the accident and contributed to the redesign of the solid fuel rocket boosters which caused the disaster.

Gibson flew the second mission after the Challenger explosion, commanding a five-person Atlantis crew on a 1988 classified military mission, during which a radar satellite was released and the astronauts performed experiments aimed at defining a human’s role as a military observer in space. Next up for Gibson was command of Endeavour, launched in 1992 with a seven-person crew, including the first Japanese astronaut. During eight days aloft, the astronauts focused on science and materials processing experiments in more than 40 investigations aboard a Spacelab module cradled in the shuttle cargo bay.

On his fifth and final space flight, Gibson in 1995 commanded Atlantis on the first shuttle mission to dock with Russia’s Mir space station. Atlantis was modified to carry a docking system compatible with the Mir’s. There was an exchange of crew members, and while the shuttle was launched with seven astronauts, it returned to earth after 10 days with eight. It was the 100th space mission for U.S. astronauts. To commemorate the event, Gibson carried with him the first American flag flown in space – by Alan Shepard on the first U.S. astronaut flight in 1961. The flag is now displayed in the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Gibson retired from NASA in 1995. He is married to another shuttle astronaut, Dr. Rhea Seddon.

Robert Gibson was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on June 21, 2003. He currently serves on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s Board of Trustees."

2. Background from nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/gibson-robert-lee/
"Gibson, Robert Lee
Astronaut/Engineer/Pilot Enshrined 2013
1946-Present
Biography
Robert Lee Gibson was born October 30, 1946, in Cooperstown, New York, but grew up in Lakewood, California. He was the second son of Paul Alexander and Margaret Rita Gibson. The family eventually included two more sons and two daughters.

Gibson fell in love with flying at an early age, as his father was a test pilot for the Civil Aeronautics Administration and later an inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration.

As a child Gibson often accompanied his father on CAA business, his father also serving as his flight instructor. Thus it was only natural Gibson would solo on his 16th birthday and receive his pilot’s license the following year.

In 1969 Gibson graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering.

He entered the Navy and, soon after earning his Wings of Gold, was flying combat missions in F-4 Phantoms off the USS Coral Sea and USS Enterprise in Southeast Asia.

In 1972, Gibson graduated from Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as TOP GUN. Not surprisingly, his call sign was “Hoot,” named so for the famous 1930’s era cowboy-turned-movie-star of the same name.

Hoot’s second combat tour was winding down when Gibson eagerly accepted the opportunity for a third – the initial carrier deployment of the Navy’s new F-14 Tomcat. In all, Gibson made over 300 carrier landings while deployed to Southeast Asia.

With his final tour completed in September 1975, Gibson returned to Miramar as an F-14A instructor, then attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1976.

Upon graduating in 1977, he was assigned to the Naval Air Test Center’s Strike Aircraft Test Directorate, testing and evaluating improvements to the F-14.

In 1978, Hoot was selected for the astronaut program, joining NASA’s eighth astronaut group, where he met fellow astronaut, Dr. Rhea Seddon – his future wife.

Hoot officially became an astronaut in 1979, and he and Rhea were married on May 30, 1981, one month after the first Shuttle launch. The couple would eventually have four children; Julie, Paul, Dann and Emilee.

Gibson’s first trip into space was as pilot on STS-41B, launched February 3, 1984. It was the first time rendezvous sensors and computer programs were flight-tested and it was the first shuttle runway landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission also marked the first use of the Manned Maneuvering Unit and Manipulator Foot Restraint.

On his various space missions Gibson and his crew carried satellites, DOD payloads and science laboratories aboard Space Shuttles Challenger, Columbia, Atlantis and Endeavor.

Following the Space Shuttle Challenger catastrophe on January 28, 1986, Gibson served on the accident investigation team. He then worked on the Solid Rocket Booster Redesign Team and assisted in redesigning, testing and re-certifying the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters.

Gibson also served as the Chief Astronaut and Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center from December 1992 to September 1994. During this time he directed the activities of 140 astronauts and 350 Flight Operations Personnel. He also managed operations for seven space launches and landings per year.

Hoot’s last Shuttle mission was in June of 1995, as Commander of STS-71, the first to rendezvous and dock with the Russian space station Mir. Gibson flew five space missions in all – four as Shuttle Commander – spending over 36 days in space.

After 18 years with NASA, Gibson left in November 1996 and opened yet another chapter in his aviation life, flying as a Captain for Southwest Airlines for 10 years. Upon retirement from Southwest, he joined the Benson Space Company as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Test Pilot. By 2009 Gibson was a demonstration pilot for the Hawker Beechcraft Corporation.

Since 1984, Hoot has indulged in his passion for speed and record-setting by racing airplanes, including in a hybrid, homebuilt Cassutt aircraft. In 1998 he began racing at the Reno Air Races in either Unlimited Division warbirds or in the jet class.

In 2007 he was invited to pilot a modified Hawker Sea Fury in the Unlimited Division, clocking a blistering 437 miles per hour – the aircraft’s then fastest qualifying time. Hoot continues to compete at Reno each September.

Ever the enthusiast, Hoot serves as an energetic role model and ambassador for a number of aviation causes, including the Academy of Model Aeronautics, Space Camp, and the National Aviation Heritage Invitational. He has logged 14,000 hours in 140 types of aircraft, with more on the way.

Tonight we are honored to welcome engineer, pilot and astronaut Robert Lee “Hoot” Gibson into the National Aviation Hall of Fame."

FYI SFC (Join to see) CMSgt (Join to see) 1sg-dan-capri
SGT Robert R.CPT Tommy CurtisSGT (Join to see)
SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerSP5 Billy Mullins
SFC David XantenSGT Mark AndersonCPT Daniel CoxSFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTMSFC Jack ChampionA1C Ian Williams
SFC Jay ThompsonPO2 John ZodunCpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr
PVT Kenneth Krause

Great birthday post.

Have a blessed day sir.