NAME:  Robert L. Gibson (Captain, USN)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born October 30, 1946, in Cooperstown, New York, but
considers Lakewood, California, to be his hometown.  His mother, Mrs. Paul A.
Gibson, resides in Westminster, California.  His father is deceased.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Blond hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 11 inches; 170 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Huntington High School, Huntington, New York, in
1964; received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from
California Polytechnic State University in 1969.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to Dr. M. Rhea Seddon of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Her
father, Mr. Edward C. Seddon, resides in Murfreesboro; her mother is deceased.
 
CHILDREN:  Julie Christie Gibson, July 24, 1976; Paul Seddon Gibson, July 26,
1982; Edward Dann Gibson, March 27, 1989.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys home built aircraft, running, surfing, and
radio-controlled model aircraft flying during his free time.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished
Flying Cross, 3 Air Medals, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, a Navy
Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Gibson entered on active duty with the Navy in 1969.  He received
primary and basic flight training at Naval Air Stations Saufley Field and
Pensacola, Florida, and Meridian, Mississippi, and completed advanced flight
training at the Naval Air Station at Kingsville, Texas.
 
While assigned to Fighter Squadrons 111 and 1, during the period April 1972 to
September 1975, he saw duty aboard the USS CORAL SEA (CVA-43) and the USS
ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65) -- flying combat missions in Southeast Asia.  He is a
graduate of the Naval Fighter Weapons School, "Topgun."  Gibson returned to the
United States and an assignment as an F-14A instructor pilot with Fighter
Squadron 124.  He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent
River, Maryland, in June 1977, and later became involved in the test and
evaluation of F-14A aircraft while assigned to the Naval Air Test Center's
Strike Aircraft Test Directorate.
 
His flight experience includes over 4,600 hours in over 45 types of civil and
military aircraft.  He holds commercial pilot, multi-engine, and instrument
ratings, and has held a private pilot rating since age 17.  Gibson has also
completed over 300 carrier landings.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected by NASA in January 1978, Gibson became an astronaut
in August 1979.  Gibson has flown three missions:  STS 41-B in 1984, STS 61-C
in 1986, and STS-27 in 1988.
 
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.  This mission marked the first checkout
of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), and Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR),
with McCandless and 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
logged him 191 hours in space.
 
Gibson was the spacecraft commander of the STS 61-C mission.  The seven-man
crew on board the Orbiter Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center,
Florida, 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 was then assigned as a member of the solid rocket
booster redesign team.
 
As the spacecraft commander of STS-27, Gibson and his five-man crew launched
from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 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, California, on
December 6, 1988.  Mission duration was 105 hours.
 
With the completion of his third space flight, Gibson has completed a total of
442 hours in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Captain Gibson will command a crew of seven on STS-47
Spacelab-J.  This cooperative mission between the United States and Japan will
focus on life science and materials processing experiments in space, and is
scheduled for launch in September 1992.
 
MAY 1992