Space Ace
Hoot Gibson is the best of the best! As a leader and commander of astronauts, he is respected and loved. When facing the most difficult circumstances, he is the rock- solid model you want to follow. On top of that he is fun to be with. This book explains why he is...the Space Ace.
HONORABLE BILL NELSON––––Congressman, Senator, Astronaut, and former Administrator of NASA
Hoot’s story is riveting! From dodging enemy fire in Vietnam, to setting numerous records as well as skirting disaster in space, to winning as Unlimited Grand Champion at the Reno Air Races, there are few aviators with his extraordinary level of achievement! This is a must read!
COLONEL CHARLES PRECOURT, USAF (Ret.)––––Space Shuttle Pilot & Commander, NASA Chief Astronaut, Deputy Program Manager International Space Station
A great book!!! It held my interest throughout. Robert “Hoot” Gibson was Number One in his class in everything he tried. He developed rapidly into a superb combat pilot and easily became my choice to attend TOPGUN as a rather junior pilot. A great career by a great American!
CAPTAIN JIM RULIFFSON, USN (Ret.)––––TOPGUN Co-Founder and Commanding Officer
I really enjoyed reading this book. Hoot’s great success was the result of his plan, one guided by his preparation for each next step. The support by his parents for both him and his personal plan is what’s missing from many families today. Hoot is a guy who has been there and done that. His words provide a guide and inspiration for all of us.
GENERAL JACK JR DAILEY, USMC (Ret.)––––Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Deputy Administrator of NASA, Director Emeritus Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Space Ace is a story of endless pursuit of a dream inspired and encouraged by a set of parents who taught by example what a life of service and sacrifice can achieve. This is a story of my first Space Shuttle Commander, Robert “Hoot" Gibson, a mentor and role model, who taught me everything I needed to know about flying in space. It is a story of more than 60 years living the life and accepting the risks of 3 distinctly unique types of flight––wartime combat pilot, Space Shuttle astronaut, and unlimited air racer who just wanted to be like his dad. As you will read in Space Ace, there can be no doubt––he made his mom and dad proud."
GENERAL CHARLIE BOLDEN, USMC (Ret.)––––Former Administrator of NASA and 4-Time Space Shuttle Astronaut.
Robert Gibson’s SPACE ACE: A Combat Pilot’s Journey from Vietnam to Beyond Earth written in collaboration with Anthony Paustian shares an invigorating recollection of personal experiences from his early days as a fighter pilot in the Navy to his adventures as an astronaut for NASA. This level of detail captures the strength, courage, passion, and determination a boy creates and turns the dream into action and heroism. This memoir remains engaging even for readers unfamiliar with the military, aviation, or NASA, as its broader themes create relatability and make its message easy to grasp. With full transparency into the aviation industry, the story provides a vast array of knowledge. Those who are receptive to learning will find Gibson’s memoir fascinating and intellectually impactful.
IndieReader
Those in the aviation world know Hoot Gibson’s story well – a rich career including time served in fighter squadrons, as a combat aviator, a Top Gun graduate, and a test pilot. That’s enough of an incredible career in itself. But that was just the beginning for Hoot. That all took place before what he’s known for best––a NASA astronaut.
Hoot flew five shuttle missions, four of them as commander. He took one of the twentieth century’s most iconic photographs, of astronaut Bruce McCandless flying untethered in space. It was the photo every 1980s kid had on their wall. He landed a space shuttle despite it having such severe tile damage, it could have burned up. In 1995, the first time an American spacecraft docked with a Russian space station, Hoot commanded the American side and nailed the docking.
All of these iconic space moments are covered in this book. But it’s clear that’s not what grabs Hoot the most about his life. The book could be titled Anyway, Back to Airplanes… because any time Hoot talks about other moments in his life––his undiagnosed ADHD as a kid, his close family life, in fact pretty much anything other than airplanes––it’s engagingly told yet feels like a sideline to what he really wants to talk about. Clearly he’s madly in love with the feeling of flying jets, prop planes––anything he can hurl off a runway––and this passion comes through on almost every page. It stretches back into his youth, as a child of pilots. Even if you’re not an aviator yourself, you’re drawn in by his enthusiasm. So whatever version of Hoot Gibson intrigues you––a child struggling in school, a husband to a fellow astronaut, a combat aviator in the heat of battle––you’ll find it here. But mostly, you’ll find someone who loves flying.
I was reminded of this when talking to a NASA senior manager about Hoot’s career. “Why him?” I asked, talking about his command of the complex, high-stakes first docking of the space shuttle with the Russian MIR space station. I expected an intricate answer about crew selection. But their answer to me was simple. “Best stick and rudder pilot we ever had.”
What more needs to be said?
FRANCES FRENCH––––Space Historian and Author
