Encyclopedia entry

Gibson, Edward George

Person · USA

Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.

American scientist astronaut 1965-1982.

Educated Rochester; Caltech.

Official Biography

NAME: Edward G. Gibson

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Gibson was born November 8, 1936, in Buffalo, New York.

EDUCATION: Gibson received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Rochester in 1959, a Master of Science in engineering from California Institute of Technology in 1960, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in engineering and physics from Caltech in 1964.

EXPERIENCE: While studying at Caltech, Gibson was a research assistant in the fields of jet propulsion and physics. He was a senior research scientist with the Applied Research Laboratories of Philco Corporation at the time NASA selected him as a scientist-astronaut in June 1965.

Gibson was the Science Pilot for Skylab 4, the third flight to the Skylab space station. Commander Gerald Carr, Command Module Pilot William Pogue, and Gibson were launched on November 16, 1973 for an 84 day stay on the station. Solar physicist Gibson concentrated on operation of astronomical and solar telescopes. Gibson participated in three of the four space walks of the mission, spending a total of 15 hours 17 minutes outside Skylab, changing film in the telescope cameras and taking photos of Comet Kohoutek. The crew returned with 780 kg of film, data and biological specimens after the record space flight.

Gibson left NASA in 1974 and became a Senior Staff Scientist with the Aerospace Corporation of Los Angeles. In this position he was still involved in analysis of the Skylab solar physics data. In 1976 he served as a consultant in West Germany on the design of the Spacelab module that later flew aboard the Space Shuttle. He returned to NASA in 1977 as Chief of Scientist-Astronaut Candidates. After leaving NASA again, he worked for Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Inc, before becoming President of Casey Aerospace Corporation.

More at: Gibson, Edward.

Family: Astronaut
Country: USA
Spacecraft: Skylab
Flights: Skylab 4
Agency: NASA
Bibliography: 5431

Chronology

7 events

1936 November 8

Birth of Dr Edward George Gibson - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gibson, Edward. American scientist astronaut 1965-1982. 1 spaceflight, 84.1 days in space. Flew to orbit on Skylab 4 (1973)..

1965 June 28

NASA Astronaut Training Group 4 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Garriott, Gibson, Edward, Graveline, Kerwin, Michel, Schmitt.
The group was selected to provide scientist-astronauts for Apollo lunar landing and earth-orbit space station missions.. Qualifications: Doctorate in natural sciences, medicine, or engineering. Under 35 years old, under 183 cm height, excellent health. US citizen.. 1,351 applicants. The National Academy of Science was responsible for the final selection. NASA planned to select up to twenty, but the quality of the applicants was considered so poor that only six were named. Of those, four would fly in space. Geologist Schmitt would walk on the moon on the last Apollo mission, and only after pressure from the scientific community. The other three would fly on Skylab. Only Garriot would fly twice, supplementing his 59 days on Skylab with a ten-day shuttle mission.

1973 November 16

14:01 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: LUT1. LV Family: Saturn I. Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB.

Skylab 4 - . Call Sign: Skylab. Crew: Carr, Gibson, Edward, Pogue. Backup Crew: Brand, Lenoir, Lind. Payload: Apollo CSM 118. Mass: 20,847 kg (45,959 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Skylab. Class: Moon. Type: Manned lunar spacecraft. Flight: Skylab 4. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM. Duration: 84.05 days. Decay Date: 1974-02-08 . USAF Sat Cat: 6936 . COSPAR: 1973-090A. Apogee: 437 km (271 mi). Perigee: 422 km (262 mi). Inclination: 50.00 deg. Period: 93.10 min.
Final Skylab mission; included observation and photography of Comet Kohoutek among numerous experiments. Completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four EVAs totalling 22 hours, 13 minutes. Increased manned space flight time record by 50%. Rebellion by crew against NASA Ground Control overtasking led to none of the crew ever flying again. Biological experiments included two Mummichog fish (Fundulus heteroclitus).
The space vehicle consisted of a modified Apollo CSM and a Saturn IB launch vehicle. All launch phase events were normal, and the CSM was inserted into a 150.1- by 227.08-km orbit. The rendezvous sequence was performed according to the anticipated timeline. Stationkeeping was initiated about seven and one-half hours after liftoff, and hard docking was achieved about 30 minutes later following two unsuccessful docking attempts. Planned duration of the mission was 56 days, with the option of extending it to a maximum of 84 days.

1973 November 23

17:42 GMT - .

EVA Skylab 4-1 - . Crew: Gibson, Edward, Pogue. EVA Duration: 0.27 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gibson, Edward, Pogue. Program: Skylab. Class: Manned. Type: Manned space station. Flight: Skylab 4. Spacecraft: Skylab. Repaired antenna. Replaced solar camera film cartridges..

1973 December 29

17:00 GMT - .

EVA Skylab 4-3 - . Crew: Carr, Gibson, Edward. EVA Duration: 0.14 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Carr, Gibson, Edward. Program: Skylab. Class: Manned. Type: Manned space station. Flight: Skylab 4. Spacecraft: Skylab. Photographed Comet Kohoutek..

1974 February 3

15:19 GMT - .

EVA Skylab 4-4 - . Crew: Carr, Gibson, Edward. EVA Duration: 0.22 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Carr, Gibson, Edward. Program: Skylab. Class: Manned. Type: Manned space station. Flight: Skylab 4. Spacecraft: Skylab. Retrieved solar camera film cartridges and external materials exposure package..

1974 February 8

15:16 GMT - .

Landing of Skylab 4 - . Return Crew: Carr, Gibson, Edward, Pogue. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Carr, Gibson, Edward, Pogue. Program: Skylab. Flight: Skylab 4. Skylab 4 landed at 15:16 GMT. .