Portrait of Robert Gibson
NASA

Robert Gibson

Robert Gibson is an American astronaut who was born on October 30, 1946, in New York. Before he became an astronaut, Gibson was a Navy pilot. He has logged over 6000 hours of flight time in 50 types of aircraft.

Gibson became an astronaut in 1979. He has spent over 876 hours in space on five spaceflights.

Gibson made his first spaceflight as the pilot of STS 41-B in 1984. Two communications satellites were deployed during this mission. In 1986, Gibson flew aboard STS 61-C. The crew conducted experiments in astrophysics.

In 1988, Gibson served as the commander of STS-27. This was a Department of Defense mission. Gibson's fourth flight occurred in 1992, aboard STS-47. This mission was notable for having the first Japanese astronaut in space.

Gibson made his last flight aboard STS-71 in 1995. This was the first Space Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Mir Space Station.


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