http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies

 

Summary:

Bob Hines was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported to the Astronaut Office in

August 2017. He has served more than 21 years in the United State Air Force (USAF) as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, 

and a test pilot. Before his selection in 2017, he was serving as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He has 

accumulated more than 3,500 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft and has flown 76 combat missions in 3 

different aircraft types while supporting contingency operations around the world. Hines served as a mission specialist on 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which concluded on Oct. 14, 2022.

Personal Data:

Born January 11, 1975, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he grew up moving many times throughout Pennsylvania 

including to State College, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Mountaintop, and Hershey/Harrisburg. His wife, Kelli, is from 

Caledonia, Mississippi. The couple has three daughters. Bob’s father and step-mom, Robert, Sr., and Melody Hines 

and his mother and step-father, Lynne and Tom Swider, reside in Harrisburg.

Education:

Bob graduated from Crestwood High School in Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, in 1993. He earned a Bachelor of Science 

degree in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University (1997). Following graduation from U.S. Air Force (USAF) Test 

Pilot School (TPS) he was awarded a Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering (2008). He went on to complete a 

Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama (2010). He has also a graduate of the 

U.S. Air Force Air War College.

Experience:

Upon graduation from Boston University, Bob worked as a telecommunications engineer at Fidelity Investments, Boston, 

MA. After being accepted to USAF Officer Training School, he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1999. 

He went on to attend Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. Upon completion of Pilot 

Training, he attended USAF Pilot Instructor Training and returned to Columbus AFB as a T-37 instructor pilot where he 

became a rare first-tour Evaluator Pilot. Bob’s next assignment was to fly the “Mighty” F-15E Strike Eagle. Following 

initial F-15E training at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, NC, Hines and his family moved to Royal Air Force (RAF) 

Lakenheath, United Kingdom where he flew missions throughout Europe supporting the North Atlantic Treaty 

Organization (NATO). He also deployed to the Middle East and Africa in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and 

Iraqi Freedom. 

While at RAF Lakenheath, he was selected to attend the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA as part of Class 07B. 

Hines’ follow-on test assignment was to Eglin AFB, where he served as an F-15C/D/E Experimental Test Pilot. He was also 

Bob Hines

(Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force) NASA Astronaut 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058

November 2022
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies

selected to fly the U-28 on an overseas deployment in support of Special Operations Forces. Hines went on to serve two

assignments with the Air Force Reserves while acting as a Flight Test Pilot for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

In the Reserves, he served as the Wing Plans Officer for the 147th Fighter Wing at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, 

Fort Worth, TX and the first F-15 Developmental Test Program Director with the 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron at 

Eglin AFB, FL where he continued to perform flight test on all models of the F-15. 

In 2012, he was selected as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. In this role, he qualified as an instructor in 

T-38N. He also flew science missions in the WB-57 and the Gulfstream G-3 as well as Parabolic Missions in the C-9. 

In 2017, he was selected as an astronaut candidate. Following ASCAN training, Hines was assigned to the Exploration 

Office where he served as the astronaut technical lead for Orion as well as the astronaut representative on the Orion 

Cockpit Working Group. Upon establishment of the Human Lander System Program, he served as a handling qualities 

and flight control specialist. He also assisted HLS teams in cabin design and human factors assessments for the next 

generation of lunar landers. 

NASA Experience:

Hines completed his first spaceflight as a mission specialist on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, having logged a total of 

170 days in space over his two increments, Expedition 67 and 68.

Awards/Honors:

NASA Stuart Present Flight Achievement Award, U.S. Air Force Bobby Bond Memorial Aviator Award, Meritorious Service 

Medal (2), Air Medal (2), Aerial Achievement Medal (2), Meritorious Unit Award, Outstanding Unit Award (12), Combat 

Readiness Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Nuclear Deterrence 

Operations Service Medal and various other service awards. 

Organizations:

Member of Society of Experimental Test Pilots and Member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Bob Hines