Space Safety Insights with Hall of Fame Astronaut Hoot Gibson

Episode 93

Hoot Gibson is the special guest for this discussion of space safety lessons that benefit all aspects of aviation. Gibson is a five-time space shuttle crew member and a professional pilot. He shares his experiences to offer insights into the importance of scrutinizing even the smallest issues and the value of training in preparing for flights of all kinds.

Hoot, John, Greg and Todd discuss the commercial space program, including Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX. While NASA has looked closely at SpaceX before using it to transport astronauts, less is known about the safety protocols of the others.

“You can never do too much training,” Gibson shares as his motto. He shares how training at NASA and elsewhere has helped him handle the many anomalies he has experienced in flight.

The discussion covers safety lessons learned in space that translate to commercial and general aviation and vice versa.

Among his honors, Gibson was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. He has also earned several military decorations throughout his career.