Dr. Edward G. Gibson - One of six men chosen in June 1965 to be part of NASA’s first astronaut group that focused on an individual’s academic background, substituting the former prerequisite of having test pilot experience with a 53-week course to earn Air Force pilot wings. Gibson in particular was the first of ‘the scientists’ to get an active crew assignment of any kind, a role as part of astronaut support crew and CAPCOM for the Apollo 12 lunar landing. Gibson also participated in the design and testing of many elements of the Skylab station. As part of his preparation for the Skylab program, Gibson studied solar physics extensively, ultimately writing an introductory textbook, The Quiet Sun, that is still used as a reference handbook for heliophysics.
Gibson was the science-pilot of Skylab 4, the third and final manned visit to the Skylab space station, launched November 16, 1973, and concluded February 8, 1974. This was the longest mission (84d 1h 15m) in the history of manned spaceflight to date. Gibson was accompanied on the record-setting 34.5-million-mile flight by Gerald Carr (CDR) and William Pogue (PLT). They successfully completed 56 experiments, 26 science demonstrations, 15 subsystem detailed objectives, and 13 student investigations during their 1,214 revolutions of the earth. Gibson was the crewman primarily responsible for the 338 hours of Apollo Telescope Mount operation, which made extensive observations of solar processes.
Gibson resigned from NASA in December 1974 to do research on Skylab solar physics data as a senior staff scientist with the Aerospace Corporation of Los Angeles, California. Beginning in March 1976, he served for 1 year as a consultant to ERNO Raumfahrttechnik GmbH, in West Germany, on Spacelab design under the sponsorship of a U. S. Senior Scientist Award form the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In March 1977, Dr. Gibson returned to the Astronaut Office Astronaut candidate selection and training as Chief of the Scientist-Astronaut Candidates.
