Robert "Hoot" Gibson, born October 30, 1946 in Cooperstown, New York, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions.
His first mission was as pilot on Challenger (STS-41-B) in February 1984. It was the first flight to involve an untethered spacewalk. He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 128 orbits.
His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as commander in January 1986, the last shuttle mission before the Challenger disaster. He spent over 6 days in space and completed 98 orbits.
Gibson's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as commander in December 1988. It was a classified payload for the US Department of Defense. He spent over four days in space and completed 68 orbits.
His fourth flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as commander in September 1992. He carried the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, and the first African-American woman, Mae Jemison into space. He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 126 orbits.
His fifth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) in June-July 1995 to the Russian space station Mir. It was the first space shuttle docking with Mir. He spent almost 10 days in space and completed 153 orbits.
He married fellow astronaut Rhea Seddon in May 1981. He retired from NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines.
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