Charles O. Hobaugh

Charles Owen "Scorch" Hobaugh (born November 5, 1961 in Bar Harbor, Maine[2]) is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. He has had three spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station, lasting between 10 and 13 days.

Charles Hobaugh
Born (1961-11-05) November 5, 1961
Bar Harbor, Maine
StatusRetired
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFighter pilot
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankColonel, USMC
Time in space
36d 07h 47m [1]
Selection1996 NASA Group
MissionsSTS-104, STS-118; STS-129
Mission insignia

Hobaugh was selected to be an astronaut in 1996, and his first spaceflight was STS-104, for which he was designated Pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis. That mission took place in July 2001, less than a year after the space station received its first long-duration crew. His most recent spaceflight was in November 2009, STS-129 on Atlantis again; this time he was designated Commander. In total, he has logged 36 days in space.

Education

In 1980 he graduated from North Ridgeville High School, North Ridgeville, Ohio. In 1984 he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy.[2] From January 1993 to August 1994 he attended the University of Tennessee Space Institute.[3] He is a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.

Awards and honors

Hobaugh has received several awards and honors, including those listed below.[2]

Military career

Hobaugh received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1984. He graduated from The Basic School in December 1984. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Air Systems Command, he reported to Naval Aviation Training Command and was designated a Naval Aviator in February 1987. He then reported to VMAT-203 for initial AV-8B Harrier training. Upon completion of this training, he was assigned to VMA-331 and made overseas deployments to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and flew combat missions in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm embarked aboard the USS Nassau. While assigned to VMA-331, he attended Marine Aviation Warfare and Tactics Instructor Course and was subsequently assigned as the Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor. Hobaugh was selected for U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and began the course in June 1991.[2]

After graduation in June 1992, he was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate as an AV-8 Project Officer and as the ASTOVL/JAST/JSF Program Officer. While there, he flew the AV-8B, YAV-8B (VSRA) and A-7E. In July 1994, he went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor in the Systems Department, where he flew the F-18, T-2 Buckeye, U-6A and gliders. Hobaugh was assigned to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School when he was selected for the astronaut program. In September 2010 he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps.[2]

Prior to the launch of STS-118, several reporters asked Hobaugh the meaning of his call-sign, "Scorch". Hobaugh has yet to explain it, saying he probably won't; he feels it sounds better if you don't know the origin of the name. He did admit that it is related to his days of flying Harrier jets in the Marines, but would say no more than that.[4]

Hobaugh has logged over 5,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft and has over 200 V/STOL shipboard landings.[2]

NASA career

Selected by NASA in April 1996, Hobaugh reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. He completed two years of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Hobaugh was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch. Projects included Landing and Rollout, evaluator in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), Advanced Projects, Multifunction Electronics Display Enhancements, Advanced and Upgrade, Rendezvous and Close Proximity Operations and Visiting Vehicles prior to his first flight assignment. Most recently, he served as Capsule Communicator, working in the Mission Control Center as the voice to the crew.

Hobaugh was the reentry and landing CAPCOM for the STS-107 mission, on which the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed on reentry. He spoke the words "Columbia, Houston. UHF Comm Check" several times after Mission Control had lost contact with Columbia.[5]

STS-104

Hobaugh flew as the pilot of STS-104 (July 12–24, 2001). This mission was the tenth mission to the International Space Station (ISS). During the 13-day flight the crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 2 crew and performed three spacewalks to install the Quest Joint Airlock and to outfit it with four high-pressure gas tanks. The mission was accomplished in 200 Earth orbits, traveling 5.3 million miles in 306 hours and 35 minutes.

STS-118

He flew as pilot on STS-118 in August 2007 for 13 days.[6]

STS-129

Hobaugh served as commander on the STS-129 mission aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis for 10 days in November 2009.[7]

Civilian career

Hobaugh was hired by FedEx in 2011 and is currently flying as captain on the Boeing 777.

Personal life

Hobaugh is married to the former Corinna Lynn Leaman of East Petersburg, Pennsylvania; they have four children. He enjoys weight lifting, volleyball, boating, water skiing, snow skiing, soccer, bicycling, running, rowing and triathlon. His parents, Jimmie and Virginia Hobaugh, reside in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. His wife's parents, Jerry and Dottie Leaman, reside in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania.[2]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. Astronauts and Cosmonauts (sorted by "Time in Space")
  2. "Astronaut Bio: Charles Hobaugh". NASA. 10 October 2010.
  3. "TWO ATLANTIS SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS HAVE UTSI CONNECTION". University of Tennessee. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010.
  4. Malik, Tariq (2007-08-08). "The Mystery of 'Scorch' Hobaugh". Livescience.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  5. Philip Chien (January 2006). Columbia, final voyage: the last flight of NASA's first space shuttle. Springer. p. 454. ISBN 0-387-27148-1.
  6. NASA (17 May 2006). "NASA Assigns Crew For Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-118 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  7. NASA (2008). "NASA Assigns Crew For Space Shuttle Discovery's Sts-129 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
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