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Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson (born October 30, 1946) is a retired Captain and Naval Aviator in the...

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. Born in Cooperstown, New York, but considers the Lakewood area of east Long Beach, California, to be his hometown. Married to fellow astronaut Dr. M. Rhea Seddon of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and has four children. He enjoys 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 and Don and a sister Kathy. 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. Gibson entered active duty with the Navy in 1969. He received basic and primary flight training at Naval Air Station