Robert L . Gibson Robert Lee " Hoot " Gibson ( born October 30 , 1946 ) is a retired Captain and Naval Aviator in the United States Navy and a retired NASA astronaut . Personal . Born in Cooperstown , New York , but considered the Lakewood area of east Long Beach , California , to be his hometown . Married to fellow astronaut Dr . M . Rhea Seddon of Murfreesboro , Tennessee , and had four children . He enjoyed home built aircraft , Formula One Air Racing , Unlimited Class Air Racing , running and surfing during his free time . His mother , Mrs . Paul A . Gibson , resides in Seal Beach , California . Gibson ' s late father , an FAA Inspector , built his own private plane in the garage of their home in Long Beach with help from his family . Family includes brothers , Jon , Don and Richard and a sister Kathy . Hoot , a long time model aviation enthusiast , serves as Ambassador for the Academy of Model Aeronautics ( AMA ) . . Education . Gibson graduated from Huntington High School , Huntington , New York as a part of the class of 1964 , and went on to earn an associate degree in engineering science from Suffolk County Community College in 1966 . He received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1969 . Military career . Gibson entered active duty with the Navy in 1969 . He received basic and primary flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Saufley Field , Florida , and Naval Air Station Meridian , Mississippi . He completed advanced flight training at Naval Air Station Kingsville , Texas and was assigned to Fighter Squadron 121 ( VF - 121 ) at Naval Air Station Miramar , California for replacement training in the F - 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 aboard the USS " Coral Sea " ( CVA - 43 ) and the USS " Enterprise " ( CVN - 65 ) , flying combat missions in Southeast Asia in the F - 4 with VF - 111 and making the initial operational carrier deployment of the F - 14 Tomcat with VF - 1 . He is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School , also known as " TOPGUN . " Gibson returned to the United States and an assignment as an F - 14A instructor pilot with Fighter Squadron 124 ( VF - 124 ) at Naval Air Station Miramar . He graduated from the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School at Naval 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 of Captain in the U . S . Navy and the rank at which he retired from active naval service . His flight experience included over 6 , 000 hours in over 50 types of civil and military aircraft . 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 . NASA career . Selected by NASA in January 1978 , Gibson became an astronaut 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 , and STS - 71 in 1995 . Gibson served as Chief 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 the crew of STS 41 - B which launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on February 3 , 1984 . The flight accomplished the proper Shuttle deployment of two Hughes 376 communications satellites which failed to reach desired geosynchronous orbits due to upper stage rocket failures . Rendezvous sensors and computer programs were flight tested for the first time . The STS 41 - B mission marked the first checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit ( MMU ) , and Manipulator Foot Restraint ( MFR ) , with Bruce McCandless II and Bob Stewart performing two spectacular EVAs ( space walks ) . The German Shuttle Pallet Satellite ( SPAS ) , Remote Manipulator System ( RMS ) , six " Getaway Specials , " and materials processing experiments were included on the mission . The eight - day orbital flight of Challenger culminated in the first landing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on February 11 , 1984 , and Gibson logged 191 hours in space . Gibson was the commander of the STS - 61 - C mission . The seven - man crew on board the Orbiter " Columbia " launched from the Kennedy Space Center on January 12 , 1986 . During the six - day flight the crew deployed the SATCOM KU satellite and conducted experiments in astrophysics and materials processing . The mission concluded with a successful night landing at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on January 18 , 1986 , and logged him an additional 146 hours in space . Gibson subsequently participated in the investigation of the Space Shuttle " Challenger " accident , and also participated in the redesign and recertification of the solid rocket boosters . As the commander of STS - 27 , Gibson and his five - man crew launched from the Kennedy Space Center on December 2 , 1988 , aboard the Orbiter " Atlantis " . The mission carried a Department 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 . Mission duration was 105 hours . On Gibson ' s fourth space flight , the fiftieth Space Shuttle mission , he served as commander of STS - 47 , Spacelab - J , which launched on September 12 , 1992 aboard the Orbiter " Endeavour " . The mission was a cooperative venture between the United States and Japan , and included the first Japanese astronaut 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 the Spacelab laboratory , as well as scientific and engineering tests performed aboard the Orbiter " Endeavour " . The mission ended with a successful landing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 126 orbits of the Earth 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 mission STS - 71 . This was the first Space Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir , and involved an exchange of crews . The " Atlantis " 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 . Mission duration was 235 hours , 23 minutes . In five space flights , Gibson completed a total of 36 . 5 days in space . Post - NASA career . Gibson left NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines . In 2006 , as reported by NASA Watch , Gibson was forced to retire as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial airline pilots . Gibson has publicly spoken out against federal regulations which require airline pilots to retire at age 60 . In December 2006 , he joined the Benson Space Company as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Test Pilot . Gibson has flown 111 different aircraft types , and competed at the 2007 Reno Air Races . In October , 2012 , Gibson was a contestant on " Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader ? " . During his appearance , he became the first contestant to make it to the million question without using any of his cheats . Unfortunately , he answered incorrectly to 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 . On the show , before he chose to answer the question , Jim Lovell , the famous Apollo 13 astronaut , was seen on a video that was for him . Beginning in 2009 , Gibson flew as a demonstration pilot for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation to showcase the Premier 1A light business jet across the United States and overseas . In 2010 , The Academy of Model Aeronautics , the United States ' national aeromodeling organization , named Robert L . Gibson a spokesperson and Ambassador to promote the hobby of radio controlled model flight and to encourage an interest in aviation amongst young people . Mr . 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 landing POGO XFY - 1 . In September 2013 , Gibson qualified the Hawker Sea Fury known as " 232 " , in the 50th National Championship Air Races at a speed of 479 . 164 mph . This is the fastest Sea Fury qualifying time . Awards and honors . Military awards include the :